


The Secrets Of Suburbia

by missthingsplace



Category: Doctor Who, Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Complete, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Rating: NC17, Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-12
Updated: 2014-02-12
Packaged: 2018-01-12 03:15:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 42,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1181245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missthingsplace/pseuds/missthingsplace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p> Moving to suburbia was nothing like they imagined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

**Title:** The Secrets Of Suburbia  
 **Author:** **missthingsplace**  
 **Parings/characters:** Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Owen/Toshiko, Doctor/Rose, Donna (maybe others)  
 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters ... unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while.  
 **Summary:**  Moving to suburbia was nothing like they imagined.  
 **Warnings:** Slash, fluff, romance, angst, humour  
 **Spoilers:** Anything is fair game  
 **Rating:** NC17 for series

 

 

 

The two men sat in the car staring at the sign standing proudly in the front garden of the large detached house, neither of them said a word for at least five minutes after the SUV came to a halt outside it.

“Are we really doing this?” Ianto asked.

“Yeah,” Jack nodded, turning to face his lover with a grin in his face to find him grinning back.

“Then we should go and let her know we're here,” Ianto told him, nodding towards the woman stood up by the house awaiting their arrival. “before she thinks we've changed out minds about the viewing.”

“I don't know why we're bothering, we liked it the first time around,” Jack shrugged, unclipping his seatbelt.

“Because we saw so many houses that day we just need to be sure it's the right one,” Ianto answered, following suit. “it's not going to take long, just to be sure.”

“Can I grope you in the bedroom while she's not looking?” Jack asked, opening the car and exiting it.

“Anywhere you want,” Ianto chuckled softly and followed the Captain up the driveway, pulling out his notepad, ready to take down anything they needed to remember.

“Hi, I'm Captain Jack Harkness,” Jack said, grinning at the woman widely.

“Samantha Bond,” she smiled back, shaking his hand when he offered it. “Pleased to meet you Captain Harkness, I know Joanne showed you around last time but I'm afraid she had a personal emergency this morning so I offered to take over her appointments.”

“Ianto Jones,” Ianto said, interrupting to introduce himself.

“Please to meet you too Mr Jones,” she repeated, shaking his hand and nodding towards the house. “shall we?”

“Lead the way,” Jack told her brightly.

“Would you mind if we looked around ourselves?” Ianto asked politely.

“Of course, I hope you'll still find it to your liking,” Samantha smiled, watching Ianto follow Jack she wondered if he was his PA.

“This kitchen is huge,” Ianto said, moving around and inspecting various drawers and cupboards. “and modern, at least we won't have to have any work done in here.”

“Well, it's not like we'll be spending much time cooking,” Jack answered. “but it will be good to have a place of our own to relax when we get some time to ourselves, you're flat is okay but ...”

“I know, too small to swing a cat,” Ianto laughed, taking a second to steal a chaste kiss before leading the way through to the nearby living room.

“We'll have to go furniture shopping too, how domestic,” Jack commented.

“We don't have to do this,” Ianto said, stopping next to the huge glass doors that opened out onto a patio. “there's still time to back out.”

“No, I've been running away from the idea of settling down with someone for far too long,” Jack reassured him, standing next to him and taking his hand in his. “I want to do this, I want to live with the man I love.”

“I will never get tired of you saying that,” Ianto smiled, this time wrapping his arms around his lovers neck and kissing him deeply. “from what I remember the only room that needed work was the bathroom, that avocado has to go. We can get someone in to do that easily, I think we should go and tell Miss Bond that we're going to take it.”

“Are you sure you want to pay half, I meant what I said before,” Jack asked. “I have plenty of money stashed away.”

“If we're going to do this then we do it as equals,” Ianto told him adamantly. “we go halves on everything.”

“Okay, let go tell Miss Bond the good news,” Jack agreed.

“I'll let you have that pleasure while I just pop up to the bathroom and take the measurements, then we can begin planning what we want.” Ianto told him.

“I'll meet you in the garden,” Jack told him, heading off to find Samantha while Ianto bounded up the stairs.

“So Captain, what's your decision?” Samantha asked him when she saw him heading her way.

“Consider the house sold,” Jack told her. “we will be paying in cash so I hope the sale will go through quickly?”

“You don't have a house to sell?” she enquired.

“No and I believe this place is being sold by relatives of a recently deceased person?” Jack asked.

“A sad situation, but yes,” she confirmed. “I'd hazard a guess that it should be yours within six weeks.”

“That's fantastic, now if you'd like to set the wheels in motion and let me know when anything needs signing,” Jack told her. “oh and there needs to be two names on the deeds, both Mr Jones and I.”

“Then he's ... I thought he was your PA?” Samantha said feeling a little flustered.

“Among other things,” Jack winked, a huge grin on his face.

“Very good Captain, I'll make sure that everything is in both your names,” she replied, knowing she was blushing a little when Ianto reappeared.

“Ready to go?” Jack asked the younger man.

“Yep,” Ianto agreed and they led the way out of the house, Samantha locking the doors behind them.

“Would it be okay we we checked over the garden again before leaving?” Jack asked her.

“Help yourselves,” she smiled. “it's been a pleasure to meet you both, I'll call with the date for our next appointment, goodbye.”

They both bid her goodbye and made their way along the side of the house to the large rear garden, standing on the patio they admired the well tended garden.

“We'll have to employ a gardener,” Ianto commented.

“Anyone or anything we need won't be a problem,” Jack answered. “our own little haven.”

“Perfect,” Ianto agreed just as Jack's wristband beeped. “and so the rift calls.”

“Of course,” Jack laughed softly. “we should go.”

“Lead the way,” Ianto answered and followed the Captain back to the car.

“Welcome to suburbia,” Jack grinned, driving the SUV out the quiet street and onto the nearby main road.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

“This bed is just perfect,” Jack grinned laying fully dressed on the still plastic covered mattress. “we couldn't have chosen a better one if we'd tried, fancy giving it a test run?”

“I'd love to but we're surrounded by chaos and until that's dealt with I won't be able to relax,” Ianto answered with a smile, not missing the growing bulge in his lovers trousers. “if you help, we can get it done twice as fast.”

With a reluctant sigh Jack slid off the mattress and shrugged off his coat, hanging it up on the edge of the door before turning to Ianto.

“Okay, here so we start?” He asked him.

“You get the plastic off that while I track down the new sheets,” Ianto told him, opening one of the many packing boxes marked 'Bedroom' and rummaging around in it.

“Did you get the feeling we were being watched, while we were moving in?” Jack asked, pulling the plastic off easily.

“Yep, what else did you expect?” Ianto asked the Captain. “We've just moved into suburbia and our new neighbours will all be curious as to the new people at number 48.”

“Should we wait for them to come to us or should we go and introduce ourselves?” Jack asked, moving to the opposite side of the bed to help his lover make it.

“I have no idea what the etiquette is but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough,” Ianto shrugged, tossing Jack a pillowcase. “I guess the next thing I should do it get the coffee machine out and the kitchen straight.”

“Once they've tried your coffee you'll have them eating out of your hand,” Jack told him with a grin. “I think it was a good idea not to bring the SUV back here with us, hopefully no-one noticed before.”

“I wouldn't count on it,” Ianto answered. “but we can hope, if someone did then we're who knows what reaction they might have, I'm not sure I'm ready for the questions that might follow.”

“Then we'll keep it simple, hopefully we won't need to retcon any of our neighbours so soon after meeting them,” Jack replied, helping Ianto pull on the duvet cover.

“Right, that's the bed sorted, at least we have somewhere to sleep tonight if nothing else,” Ianto said. “I'm going to sort out the kitchen, want to start emptying the DVD's and books onto the shelves in the living room?”

“Sure,” Jack agreed. “but on one condition.”

“And what would that be?” Ianto asked, noting his lovers smirk.

“A kiss?” Jack asked, sliding an arm around the younger man's waist and pulling him close.

“I think I can manage that,” Ianto smiled, leaning forwards and capturing Jack's lips with his own and taking the lead.

Jack's lips parted easily under the probing of his tongue and slid inside, tasting and tangling with the other man's as the kiss deepened, Ianto's arms sliding around the Captains neck as they embraced.

“Are you sure the unpacking can't wait?” Jack mumbled when they parted panting.

“Once we get in that bed I know we'll be there till morning and as much as I love the idea I really can't be waking up in the morning knowing we still have to unpack, sorry,” Ianto answered a little regretfully.

“I understand, I do really,” Jack told him making the younger man chuckle softly.

“Do you really think I believe that for a moment?” Ianto grinned.

“Not really, no,” Jack admitted, looking out the window nearby . “hey, is it just me or does there seem to be something odd about that house down the end?”

“Odd? Only in the sense that whoever lives there needs to take care of the house better and tackle the weeds in the garden to make it fit in with the rest of the street,” Ianto answered. “what makes you think it's odd?”

“I'm not sure, there's just something about it,” Jack frowned, moving out of the younger man's arms to move closer to the window. “I think we should introduce ourselves to them, check them out.”

“Only if we can stay in the street,” Ianto said with a small shudder at the thought of just how bad the inside could be. “I'm sure it's just some eccentric little old lady living there with a dozen flea-bitten cats.”

“You're probably right,” Jack said, turning back to face him lover. “and if the suburbs are anything like the rumours I'm sure the other neighbours will be more than willing to dish the dirt.”

Ianto laughed. “You'll fit in the suburbs perfectly if you want to gossip.”

“I don't gossip!” Jack huffed, pouting and putting on a hurt face.

“Well it looks like you'll get your chance sooner than you imagined,” Ianto said, looking at the figure crossing the street and walking towards their new house. “it looks like our first visitor is about to arrive.”

“You go and get the coffee on and I'll go and let her in,” Jack suggested.

“Fine, but try and keep the flirting to a minimum, yeah?” Ianto teased.

“Yes Sir,” Jack grinned, following him down the stairs. 

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Jack waited until she had reached the front door and rang the bell before going to answer it, opening it widely and giving the woman before him a wide grin.

“Captain Jack Harkness, can I help you?” He asked.

“Gwen, Gwen Cooper, I live opposite and I saw you moving in earlier,” she replied, holding out a hand for him to shake.

Jack took the offered hand, lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it, causing her to smile widely back at him.

“I just thought I'd introduce myself and ...” she held up the bottle of wine. “offer you a house warming gift.”

“Would you like to come in?” Jack asked her, not missing the subtle way she was trying to see past him into the house. “Coffee?”

“That would be lovely, thanks,” she smiled, showing him the small gap between her teeth and followed him into the house.

“Coffee?” Jack asked her, leading the way through to the living room in which the three piece suite was surrounded by packing boxes.

“If it's not too much trouble,” Gwen smiled, perching down on the edge of the still plastic covered sofa and glancing about the while he left her for a moment.

“Coffee is on it's way,” Jack said when he returned to the room.

“Everything looks new,” Gwen mused out loud without thinking. “sorry, none of my business.”

Jack chuckled softly. “That's because it is, I barely owned anything and my partner wanted to get things that we both chose, a new beginning.”

“I see, bad break-up eh?” Gwen answered. “Sorry, doing it again!”

“Not exactly,” Jack replied. “but it's in the past and we like to keep it that way.”

“Sorry, again,” Gwen sighed, mentally kicking herself just as Ianto walked through the door carrying a tray containing three mugs of coffee, sugar bowl, milk jug and a plate of biscuits.

“How on earth did you find all that in this clutter?” Jack said, grinning at his lover.

“To you it's clutter, but I happen to know exactly what is in each box!” Ianto retorted with a smile before turning to Gwen. “Ianto Jones, Jack tells me you're one of our new neighbours?”

“I live just across the street,” Gwen answered, accepting a mug of coffee from the younger man and taking a sip. “wow, this is fantastic coffee!”

“It's my speciality,” Ianto told her with a smile.

“One of many I can assure you,” Jack added causing his lover to blush a little.

“So Gwen, are you married?” Ianto asked, changing the tack of the conversation.

“Engaged,” she smiled, holding her hand up to show off her ring. “I live with my fiancée Rhys, the wedding is planned for August. Rhys is the manager of a haulage firm and I'm a police officer.”

“We better make sure we behave ourselves then Jack,” Ianto grinned, finally taking a seat in the chair Jack was perched on the edge of the arm.

“So, what about the rest of the neighbours, is it a close knit community around here?” Jack asked her.

“There's Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato at number 44, they're married but Tosh has kept her maiden name, he's a doctor at a private clinic and she's some kind of computer genius at the same place, all top secret apparently.”

“Really? That's interesting,” Jack answered, glancing down at Ianto. “do you know what the place is called?”

“Sorry, I don't remember them ever saying,” Gwen said with a small frown and took a long sip of her coffee before continuing.

“Then there's Doctor John Smith and Rose Tyler at number 43, next to me,” Gwen told them. “I'm at 45 by the way, strange pair by all accounts.”

“In what way?” Ianto asked her.

“She's from London and a little ... common, I know that sounds snobby but ... anyway, he seems much more refined and maybe a good ten years older than her,” Gwen continued. “He likes to be called 'Doctor' but I have no idea what he's a doctor of, all I do know is they are away a lot, a hell of a lot.”

“Business?” Jack suggested.

“Not a clue to be honest, it always seems so sudden,” she shrugged. “sometimes they vanish in the middle of the night.”

“All sounds very intriguing,” Ianto smiled. “what about the house at the end, who lives there?”

“That would be Donna, Donna Noble,” Gwen said, getting suddenly more excited. “she's the real mystery.”

“In what way?” Jack urged the woman.

“There's something really odd about her that I can't put my finger on, I've only been inside her house once and I didn't feet at all comfortable.” Gwen explained. “The house looked ... I know people like to keep their houses tidy but hers looked like no-one really lived there, well, the room I went into anyway and well, something about her gave me the creeps.”

“But you didn't see anything out of the ordinary, apart from her being ultra tidy?” Ianto asked, wondering if the woman just had a really bad case of OCD.

“No ... but ...” Gwen trailed off and paused for a moment and then shrugged. “it's just a feeling.”

“She's probably just harmless,” Jack replied reassuringly. “how long as she lived there?”

“That's one of the strange things, it feels like she's lived there forever but at the back of my mind there's a voice telling me that she wasn't there when we moved here,” Gwen told him, voicing it for the first time. “we only moved here a year ago and the other neighbours talk like she's been there for years.”

“It all sounds rather fantastical, I'll give you that but I doubt it's anything to worry about,” Jack told her.

“Yes, you're probably right,” Gwen agreed, feeling a little silly for saying anything and getting up from her seat. “I should get going, let you get on with your unpacking.”

“It's been good to meet you,” Ianto said, he and Jack walking her to the front door. “thanks for the wine.”

“You're welcome, bye.” she replied and hurried off down the path while they called out their own goodbyes to her and then closed the door.

“I guess we should look into the mysterious Donna Noble,” Ianto sighed, wrapping his arms around Jack's neck and kissing him softly. “and even the other neighbours she mentioned.”

“Yeah, I get the feeling our neighbours aren't as normal as we hoped,” Jack murmured back. “but it can wait until tomorrow, can't it?”

“Mmmm,” Ianto mumbled, nibbling on the Captains right earlobe.

“What about the unpacking?” Jack asked with a small, soft chuckle, feeling his lovers arousal against his leg.

“Sod the unpacking,” Ianto answered with a smirk. “it's not like we have lots to unpack and we should christen at least one room on our first day.”

“I'm not going to complain,” Jack grinned, kissing his lover deeply before leading him up the stairs to their room.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Moaning softly Ianto's back arched off the mattress below him, his only care at that precise moment was where Jack's tongue was going to go next. It had already left his own mouth to tease down the full length of his neck, pausing briefly while his lover sucked on the sensitive skin at the juncture where it met his shoulder before making it's way down to his chest.

His own hands stroking over the taut muscles of the Captains back while the tongue teased his nipples into hard peaks, the teeth that joined them only adding the the pleasure that moved in tendrils down through his body and seemingly causing his already hard cock to thicken even more.

And now the tongue was wetly teasing the crease where his inner thigh met his groin and he was praying silently in his head for Jack to move it across his body further, his balls and cock both screaming out for attention.

“Jack ... please ...” the words came out as a breathy plea than an actual beg making Jack smile to himself before swiping his tongue up the full length of his lovers gasp to elicit the expected gasp from him.

“Was that what you wanted?” Jack asked, lifting his head to look at the younger man's face, knowing it would be flushed with want and need.

“More, I need more,” Ianto moaned, opening his eyes just barely enough to look at his lover through his eyelashes. “need to come ... so close ...”

“Soon,” Jack answered, burying his face in his lover crotch and breathing in his musky scent deeply for a moment or two before tasting the area behind his balls with the tip of his tongue, causing Ianto to gasp out loud.

Reaching for the lube they'd barely remembered to fetch from one of the boxes before stripping each other off in frenzy earlier from the top of the bedside cabinet Jack trailed his tongue lower and lower.

Ianto's legs parted wider, canting his hips upwards as his lovers tongue delved in between his buttocks to tease the entrance to his body, pants escaping his mouth when the warm wet tip of the Captains tongue delved inside.

“Oh god ... please ... oh please,” Ianto managed to pant.

Jack flipped the lid off the lube blindly and somewhat awkwardly managed to get some onto the tips of his fingers before dropping the lube, not caring if the lid was on properly and moved then to join his mouth at the entrance to his lovers body, sliding them easily into the tight heat.

Ianto's hips bucked up off the bed, trying to draw both Jack's fingers and tongue deeper into his body, desperate for friction his own hand moved to his cock, wrapping around it tightly and barely a minute later his come pumped over his chest in pearly white streams as he came hard.

Leaving his fingers within his lovers body Jack withdrew his tongue and moved so he could kiss his still panting lover deeply, stopping briefly on his way to lick up some of the spilled come and then thrusting it into the younger man's mouth as they kissed hard.

“Fuck me,” Ianto told him huskily when the kiss broke, needing to feel his lover inside him.

“I'm not going to last long,” Jack told him, reaching to pick up the lube from where it had fallen on the floor.

“Don't care, just fuck me,” Ianto retorted, watching Jack coat his engorged cock carefully with the lube and then lifted one leg to rest his ankle on the Captains shoulder.

Eyes closed and biting down on his lower lip Jack very slowly pushed his cock into his lovers arse, stopping a couple of times while squeezing the base of his cock to some himself coming before he was even buried completely inside his lover until with a loud moan of satisfaction his balls rested against the younger man's buttocks.

“Move,” Ianto urged.

Slowly Jack pulled back a little then thrust forwards, resigned to the fact that he was going to come fast he just went for it, pounding deeply into his lovers body and coming no more than a couple of minutes later with a loud gasp of his lover name.

Ianto reached up, wrapping his arms around the Captains body he pulled him down so he could kiss them, neither of them moving, in a tangle of limbs they both fell into a sated sleep.

*~*~*

“No birth certificate, no social security number, no bank details and nothing on the police data base,” Ianto called out across the hub to Jack. “nothing. It's like this Donna Noble doesn't and never has existed.”

“Perhaps she's changed her name, if we could get a picture of her we could use the face recognition soft wear,” the Captain suggested, moving across the hub to stand at the younger man's shoulder. “dig deeper into the police files and see if maybe she's been placed under some police protection relocation programme.”

“That's going to take a while, I'll need to get past more than their usual firewalls and the files are probably going to be encrypted,” Ianto responded, hitting a couple of keys to start the process as he spoke.

“You can do it, I have every faith in you,” Jack told him with a smile, leaning down just enough to plant a kiss on the purple mark he'd left on his lovers neck the night before. “Any luck with the others yet? The rest of the neighbours Ms Cooper told us about?”

Ianto tilted his head upwards and was rewarded, this time with a brief kiss to the lips before replying.

“The other computers are still working on them, I started working on Miss Noble first,” Ianto answered. “hopefully we'll have more luck with them, the whole neighbourhood can't be under police protection, if that's even what it is with her.”

“Maybe she's just an alien,” Jack replied seriously. “we could just go and visit her under the illusion that we're just introducing ourselves to our new neighbours.”

“An alien living in suburbia?” Ianto asked thoughtfully and then answering his own question. “It's possible I guess, it wouldn't be the first time.”

“If she is, as long as there's no sign that she's a danger to the population we should just leave her be,” Jack nodded. “but for all we know she could just be an eccentric woman living alone.”

“Yep, we only have the gossip of one woman to go on,” Ianto agreed, pushing himself up from his chair. “now, time to check the other computers, see if they've come up with anything on the other residents.”

“Maybe we're living in a whole street of aliens,” Jack said with a chuckle, following the younger man across the hub.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

“How many John Smith's live in Cardiff?” Jack asked, a little aghast at the length of the list on the screen before him.

“More than I ever thought possible,” Ianto admitted. “the first search I did, using the house address came up with nothing, what is it with the residents of our street.”

“Did you try the electoral role?” Jack asked, only to be met with a raised eyebrow from the younger man. “Yeah, of course you did.”

“According the the council records that house is owned by Rose Tyler, I was able to find out a few details about her,” Ianto finally answered. “she grew up on the Powell Estate in London, her father died when she was a baby and she lived with her mum until she was eighteen, after that the trail becomes rather cold.”

“Well, at least that tells us she's human anyway,” Jack replied thoughtfully. “perhaps this John Smith is too, there's no reason why he's not.”

“They could just be a normal couple with a passion for travelling,” Ianto suggested. “should I not bother with the search?”

“It's a little strange that this man, who insists on being called the 'Doctor' isn't on the electoral records for that address,” Jack replied. “is there any way of filtering that list down to make it more manageable?”

“All ready on it,” Ianto replied, hitting the enter key and setting the computer searching again, reluctantly admitting. “I should have put 'Doctor John Smith.”

“If it's his real name ... maybe we've stumbled into a street used for relocating people,” Jack frowned.

“Highly unlikely,” Ianto scoffed a little, looking at the new and much shorter list on the screen.

“Only three 'Doctor John Smiths', that still seems rather a lot for the Cardiff area,” Jack frowned, watching as Ianto clicked on the first name. “Ah, he's deceased as of six weeks ago, that helps narrow it down a little.”

“I'm assuming it's not the one we're looking for, I'm sure Gwen would have delighted in telling us that little snippet of gossip,” Ianto retorted with a grin, clicking on the second name in the list. “this one is ninety two in three days, I think we can rule him out too.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed, hoping the third and final one would tell them what they needed.

“Dammit!” Ianto exclaimed loudly when the details for the third one appeared on the screen.

Jack chuckled at the photo on the screen.

“I mean, who the hell calls their dog that?” Ianto continued. “Are they out of their minds?”

“It says it was named after the owners grandfather to honour his name,” Jack read out laughing. “amusing, but it doesn't help us.”

“Great, we have two people in out street, neighbours who don't appear to exist,” Ianto groaned. “and now we've started this we're going to have to pursue it out of curiosity if nothing else, aren't we?”

“I guess we should do the same with the Doctor as Miss Noble, try to get to meet them and find out what we can,” Jack shrugged. “if we can get a photo, even better.”

“Tell me again, why did we move to the suburbs?” Ianto asked, swivelling around in his chair to face the Captain.

“We thought it would be a quiet haven,” Jack sighed. “maybe it is and we're just being paranoid?”

“I really hope so,” Ianto answered, letting Jack pull him up out of his seat and into his embrace.

“I hope this Doctor Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato are easy to find,” Jack mumbled into the younger man's ear before kissing the side of his neck. “I suspect the are human, but I'd like to know what their jobs are, after what Gwen told us.”

“Agreed,” Ianto, the word coming out as a small sigh as the Captain kissed his way up his neck to nibble on his ear.

“We could do with some new team members, including a medic and a computer genius,” Ianto managed to say before Jack claimed his lips in a rather tender kiss, continuing once their lips parted. “maybe we could poach them, the pay Torchwood offers could be an incentive.”

“I think we need to find out what jobs they are doing now before we even consider it,” Jack replied. “but it's not a bad idea.”

“I never have bad ideas,” Ianto replied, his face completely deadpan just as they rift alarm went off.

“Typical, just when I had you wanted, in my arms,” Jack grumbled, releasing the younger man so they could check out the readings.

“Bute Park, probably a Weevil,” Ianto said.

“Just the one I hope, you know what Weevil hunting with you does to me,” Jack grinned, moving swiftly across the hub towards the coat stand.

“Oh yeah,” Ianto grinned, helping Jack on with his coat before donning his own. “I'm counting on it.”

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

“Why do these things always come out at night?” Ianto grumbled, fighting his way through the undergrowth at the edge of the park.

“Because they are nocturnal and it's natural for them to hunt at night,” Jack hissed back, pointing to an area around six feet in front of them and then raising his finger to his lips before whispering. “there.”

Jack indicated that the younger man should continue in the same direction while he went off sidewards, hoping to get behind the creature before it noticed them.

They were both within feet of it when it caught their scent and growled loudly, there was the sound of a loud thud from it dropping it's former prey on the floor and then the undergrowth began to shake seconds before the Weevil emerged and headed straight for Ianto.

“Shit!” Ianto exclaimed, aiming his gun and firing, hitting it square in the shoulder.

The creature's upper body twisted sidewards as the bullet caught it, not quite knocking it off balance but before it could retaliate another bullet hit it in the back of it's head from behind at exactly the same time as another plunged into it's chest and it crashed to the ground, dead.

“That was close!” Ianto panted out the breath he'd been holding, kicking the creature to reassure himself it was dead.

“When is it not?” Jack asked with a small chuckle.

“One of these days one of us isn't going to get out of this alive,” Ianto grumbled. “seriously, we need more team members.”

“Hey, I managed for for four years on my own, two of us ... well, it's a piece of cake!” Jack stated, grabbing the younger man and shoving him back against a tree.

“I think that was more luck than judgement,” Ianto retorted. “it's a wonder you're still alive.”

“I'm going to live forever,” Jack grinned, his eyes glistening in the moonlight.

“Now that is impossible,” Ianto laughed.

“Nice wish though,” Jack shrugged. “If I ever get off this planet again you're coming with me and we'll go somewhere that'll make it possible.”

“Still hoping that mythical Doctor of yours will turn up one day and whisk you away from all this?” Ianto asked, his tone taking a more subdued turn.

“He's a legend and he's real,” Jack pouted. “his travels are documented and it quite clearly states that he has the power of immortality. We could become some of his fabled companions, he has them too you know, people who travel with him for a while”

“Have you ever met anyone who's met him and had the ... gift bestowed upon them?” Ianto asked. “One of these companions? A friend of a companion?”

“No, not personally but ...” Jack shrugged, trailing off. “wouldn't you like to live forever, if you could?”

“I've not thought about it to be honest,” Ianto replied. “and I'm not going to wish for something impossible.”

“Well, the rumour also states that he's been spotted in Cardiff more than a few times and that he comes here to refuel his time machine,” Jack told him, not for the first time. “and when he does, I'll be waiting for him and when he takes me away from this planet you'll be coming with me.”

“Oh will I, pretty confident about that aren't you?” Ianto couldn't help but chuckle as he replied.

“I love you, you love me, it's just the way things are,” Jack grinned. “how they are destined to be.”

“I'll take your word for that,” Ianto told him with a resigned sigh. “now are you going to kiss me before we freeze to death or can we dump the Weevil back at the hub and go home to a nice, comfortable bed?”

“Beds are overrated,” Jack told him, then claimed his lover lips in a long, lingering kiss, pressing his body to his.

“Feeling warmer?” Jack asked when they broke panting a little.

“Certain parts of me are,” Ianto smirked, taking the Captains hand and placing it on his groin. “I think all my blood just rushed south.”

“I know just the thing for that,” Jack told him and then holding his coat out of the way he dropped down onto his knees in front of his lover and waited no time opening the younger man's trousers. “I can cure you in no time!”

Ianto's replied was a muffled moan as the Captain released his cock from his trousers and the cold night air hit it, followed by the warm heat of his lovers mouth as it engulfed his erection.

Jack teased the head, sucking and licking it alternately, feeling the shivers of pleasure he sent through his lovers body when he delved the tip into the leaking slit.

Ianto grasped the Captains head with both hands urging him on, a low moan escaping his lips when his lover's lips slid slowly down his cock until his nose was buried in the short hairs around the base and began sucking in earnest.

“Oh yeah ...” Ianto mumbled, hips rocking in time with the movements of the captains mouth, trying not to choke him as he seeked his release.

Jack raised a hand and cupped his lovers balls, feeling them tighten a little in his hand and hearing the younger man gasp moments before his come shot down his throat while a strangled groan of pleasure from his lips followed.

The Captain drank down every drop before letting the softening cock slip from between his lips and then got to his feet, kissing the young man deeply so he could taste himself.

“We should get out of here,” Jack sighed, glancing over at the nearby body of the Weevil. “before some late night dog walker finds that.”

“I was going to return the favour,” Ianto said, sliding his hand suggestively over the Captains arse.

“When we get home, we can do it in any room you like, we still have plenty to christen,” Jack grinned widely.

“If you're sure?” Ianto asked, squeezing Jack's left buttock.

“Yeah, I'm quite liking the idea of you shagging me over that new dining room table,” Jack admitted.

“I think I can manage that,” Ianto nodded in the moonlight and fastening his trousers. “lets get out of here.”

Jack heaved the Weevil up over his shoulder and asked. “Come on then, what are you waiting for?”

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

“Is that Gwen?” Ianto as with a small frown, seeing the woman standing at their front door as they neared.

“What on earth is she doing lurking around at this time?” Jack answered. “It's gone one am and she appears to be wearing her pyjamas.”

“We could just drive past while she's not looking and come back later,” Ianto suggested with a small smirk.

“And she could be in trouble,” Jack signed resignedly, pulling onto the driveway and stopping.

“Ms Cooper, is something wrong?” Jack called out to the woman, opening his door and climbing out.

“It's sorry, it's just ... well ...” Gwen replied hesitantly. “shit, I feel a little stupid now, I should just go home.”

“You're here now, you may as well tell us,” he replied, Ianto now standing at his side.

“It's Rhys, well not him exactly, he's away and ... well I heard a noise,” Gwen began to explain, feeling a little embarrassed. “more than once in the loft and I know it's probably just mice but they sounded like they were wearing clogs ... I got scared.”

“Do you want me to take a quick look?” Jack offered, wanting nothing more than to just go into his own home with his lover.

“Please? Would you mind?” Gwen asked. 

“It really probably is just mice,” Ianto interjected, unable to hide his slight annoyance at the woman's presence on their doorstep in the early hours of the morning. 

“It won't take five minutes to put Ms Coopers fears to rest,” Jack said, glancing at the younger man. “by the time you've got the coffee ready I'll be back.”

“Coffee? At this time in the morning?” Gwen asked, as Jack expected she missed the metaphor he intended completely. “You'll be up all night, unless it's decaf, perhaps hot chocolate would be better? Sorry, I'm babbling, it's none of my business ...”

Jack just gave a laugh and told her. “Come on, lets go and see to these mice.”

“I'll just put the coffee on then Sir,” Ianto said with a grin, his wink unseen by the woman as she led Jack over to her own house. 

“So, where's Rhys then?” Jack asked, following her through the front door and closing it quietly behind them.

“Stag do, one of his mates is getting married and they're in London for the weekend,” Gwen explained, flicking on the light for the stairway.

“A weekend of booze and boobs then?” Jack chuckled, heading up the stairs behind Gwen. “You must really trust him?”

“He loves me, he'd never do anything to hurt me,” Gwen told him and the pointed upwards. “that's the loft hatch, you should be able to reach that rope?”

Jack eyed up the short rope hanging from the two foot square in the ceiling for a moment or two and then reached up, almost having to stand up tiptoe to reach it and gave it a hard tug.

The hatch dropped down on it's hinges and the metal ladder slid down to the floor before them, Jack pulled it into position where it was most sturdy and then turned to Gwen.

“Is there a light or do I need a torch?”

“A torch, sorry,” Gwen told him. “hold on a minute.”

With that she rushed off through one of the doors and returned a few minutes with a torch, handing it to him, Jack turned it on and checked the beam before climbing up the ladder into the loft space.

When he got to the point where his upper body was through the hole he shone the torch about in the dim gloom but he couldn't see anything and knew he'd have to venture all the way in.

“Can you see them?” Gwen called up.

“No, I'm going to have to go all the way in,” Jack called back. “if I'm not back in ten minutes you better alert the authorities.”

Gwen laughed, watching his feet vanish into the hole and then heard the sound of his footsteps on the wooden floorboards they had laid when they had first moved in with the intention of using it as another room.

Jack moved forwards a few feet to his left, flashing the torch about he couldn't believe how much stuff was cluttering up the smallish space, he was just wondering where to start when he heard a noise from the other end of the loft.

Drawing his gun from his holster – he wasn't taking any chances – Jack edged slowly across the floorboards praying it wouldn't stand on a squeaky one in the direction of the noise, the torch beam aimed downwards so he wouldn't trip over anything.

The noise came again, like Gwen had said it sounded like mice wearing boots and carefully peered over the top of one of the wooden crates and shined the light down into the space behind it.

A pair of huge eyes looked up at him in the light, well, huge for the size of it's small head that was and Jack couldn't help but smile to himself.

The creature, for that was the best way to describe it was very mouse-like, down to the long tail and the whiskers on it's nose but it was about three times the size and it's eyes were bright blue and as large as a fully grown cats.

“Hello, how on earth did you find you way up here?” Jack asked the creature, knowing it couldn't answer him and re-holstered his gun. “you're scaring the pretty lady so we need to find you a new home.”

The creature tilted it's head sideways as if listening intently to what the Captain was saying and then proceeded to clean it's face with it's paws.

“I heard your species wasn't one for being intimidated or scared and harmless,” Jack continued, glancing about for something to contain the creature until he could get it out of the house. “looks like the stories were true, aha!”

Jack moved a foot or so and picked up the large metal biscuit tin poking out the top of one of the crated and pulled the lid off, thankful to find it empty and headed back to his original spot.

Placing the tin on the floor beside him Jack reached down and carefully grasped the creature, it made no attempt to escape and seconds later Jack was holding it in his hand studying it.

“Have you found something?” Gwen called up, a little worry creeping into her voice.

“Just mice like you thought,” Jack called back, admiring the way the creatures fur seemed to glisten with little flecks of silver in it's grey fur. “I'll be down shortly.”

“Okay,” Gwen called back, relived.

“Sorry about this, it won't be for long,” Jack told the creature and lowered it into the waiting tin, then picked the lid up and studied it for a moment before pulling his gun out again and shooting a hole through the middle.

“What the fuck was that?” Gwen's voice shrieked up the steps.

“It was nothing, don't worry about it,” Jack called back, trying to keep his tone light-hearted and then finally placed the lid on the tin imprisoning the creature within. 

Sliding his gun away again Jack used the torch to light his way across the cluttered floor to the loft hatch and then climbed carefully down with the torch between his teeth and the tin safely under his arm. 

“Sorry, I had to bash a hole through the lid so they didn't suffocate,” Jack said as a way of explanation for the sound of his gun firing and praying she would buy it. “I'll release them in one of the fields in the morning.”

“It sounded more like a gun firing to me,” Gwen frowned, eyeing up the hole in the lid of the tip and trying to peer into it.

“Nope, just a hammer striking a screwdriver,” Jack grinned, pushing up the ladder so the loft hatch door moved back into place sealing the hole in the ceiling. “I should get home.”

“For coffee?” Gwen smiled, moving closer to him and putting a hand on his arm.

“Yeah, coffee,” Jack answered, still grinning. 

“I was just wondering ... if there was something I could do to that you?” Gwen asked suggestive, running her hand up the Captains arm and even closer so that their bodies were almost touching. “Do you know how delicious you smell?”

“Pheromones,” Jack chuckled, sliding away from her and rushing off down the stairs. “and I really need to get home for my coffee.”

“Well, if you change your mind,” Gwen called out after him, slumping against the wall with a sigh of disappointment before heading back to bed and wondering what Rhys was up to.

Jack let out his own sigh of relief once he'd exited the house and with a smile he rushed across the street to his own clutching the tin.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Letting himself in through the front door Jack made his way into the darkened house, stopping only briefly to shrug his coat off – holding the tin containing the alien first with one hand and then the other as he did so – and then hanging it on the hook.

“Ianto?” Jack called out, not sure where he'd find him.

“In here,” Ianto responded, his voice filtering through the closed door of the dining room.

“Two seconds,” Jack called back and made his way through to the kitchen.

He placed the tin on the counter top and opened the fridge door, scanning it's contents for a moment or two before pulling out at packet of ham, a couple of crackers and a few grapes.

Setting them next to the tin he eased the lid off carefully and the creature looked up at him curiously, as if not sure what to make of him.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” Jack told the seemingly un-flustered creature as he placed the items from the fridge into the tin beside it.

The alien glanced at the food and then back at Jack as if waiting for permission causing the Captain to give a small chuckle and watched it pick up a grape between it's paws and nibble it tentatively.

Happy that the creature wouldn't come to any harm in the tin Jack added a small plastic container of water and closed the lid again, leaving it where it was and went to find his lover.

“I thought you'd got lost?” Ianto called out, sounding a little aggravated as he heard the sound of Jack's footsteps heading his way again.

“Just had to ...” Jack answered and trailed off at the sight before him in the low lamp light when he opened the dining room door.

“I thought you were never coming home,” Ianto grinned, lifting up the deep red silk tie knotted around his neck – the only item of clothing he was wearing – and running it through his fingers.

“And you're lying on the dining room table why?” Jack asked with a wide grin, already unbuttoning his shirt buttons.

“Well, seeing as you wanted me to fuck you over it, it seemed like the perfect place to wait for your return,” Ianto answered. “although I have to tell you that it's not all that comfortable, what took you so long anyway, was it mice?”

“Not exactly,” Jack responded, pushing his braces off his shoulders and down his arms before tugging his half unbuttoned shirt and under shirt off over his head and dropping them on the floor.

“Then what?” Ianto asked, his hand sliding suggestively down his chest to his belly and then back up again while he watched his lover finish undressing.

“I'll tell you later, for now I just want to clamber up on that table with you,” Jack told him with a chuckle, kicking his trousers and briefs off over his now bootless feet to join the rest of his clothes.

“It's a good job it's a large, sturdy table,” Ianto remarked as Jack clambered onto it and lay beside him.

“I like to be practical,” Jack laughed softly. “love the tie by the way.”

“I've been keeping it for a special occasion,” Ianto told him.

“This is a special occasion?” Jack asked, rolling onto his side and taking the tie in his hand the lowering his head to peck at his lovers lips.

“Any time alone away from the hub could be seen that way but this is a christening, a christening of this table,” Ianto chuckled.

“Aha, I get it now,” Jack said, covering the younger man's lips once more, this time kissing him deeply until the had they need for oxygen.

Jack's hand slid down his lovers body, his fingers feeling every muscle ripple slightly under their touch while Ianto murmured softly, loving the gasp that escaped his lips when his hand wrapped around his cock.

“I thought you wanted me to fuck you over this table?” Ianto mumbled, looking at the Captain through his eyelashes.

“Maybe next time, seeing you lying here like this makes me want to ride you,” Jack whispered in his ear before nipping down on the lobe gently, his hand slowly stroking his lovers cock.

“Lubes on the chair,” Ianto told him, nodding towards one of them that wasn't quite pushed under the table properly.

Jack moved reluctantly away from his lover and plucked the small bottle from the seat of the chair, moving quickly back into his former position.

“I want to watch you prepare yourself,” Ianto told him, raising himself up onto his elbows.

Jack moved so he was sat between his lovers legs facing him and then spread his legs wide, placing his feet on the table either side of the younger man's legs and coated his fingers with the lube.

With his eyes locked on his lovers weeping cock Jack slipped his fingers down past his own erection and between his buttocks, seeking out the tight entrance to his body hidden within.

Ianto's eyes watched the Captains fingers circling the entrance to his own body, the way they teased the tight muscle for a moment or two before one of them slid slowly into to breach his body.

Jack hissed slightly as his finger slid inside him, the warm heat enveloping his digit while the muscle already began to relax to allow the intrusion, quickly adding a second he heard Ianto moan out his appreciation.

“You look so hot,” Ianto managed to gasp out.

“And you so beautiful,” Jack responded. “touch yourself.”

Tilting sidewards a little to rest on one elbow Ianto reached down and took his own cock in his hand, still watching the Captain fuck himself with his own fingers he began to slowly wank.

“I want to be inside you, buried so deep within your body,” Ianto said huskily. “I want to feel the heat of your arse wrapped around my cock while you ride me hard and fast.”

“You only had to ask,” Jack grinned, sliding his fingers from his body and reaching for the lube again.

Drizzling it onto his fingers his hand joined Ianto's on his cock, both hands working on it to coat it quickly before Jack changed position again, moving to straddle his lover hips.

Ianto held his cock still while Jack lowered himself down, both of them groaning in pleasure when the younger man's cock breached the Captains hole and slid in easily until Jack's balls rested on his lovers body.

“So tight, so hot,” Ianto murmured, now lying flat on his back again with his hands clutching at his lovers hips. “so good, I just need you to move.”

Slowly Jack raised himself up until only the head of Ianto's cock was in his body and then slammed down quickly again making the younger man gasp out loudly.

“Fuck!”

“That's the idea,” Jack chuckled, repeating the action once more and then finding his rhythm.

Nothing but the sound of their moans, pants and flesh hitting flesh filled the room as Jack rode his lovers cock, one hand resting on Ianto's belly while the other wrapped around his own cock.

“So close,” Jack mumbled, his hand working faster and faster on himself.

“Come for me Jack, let me feel you come around me,” Ianto urged, his hips bucking up to meet each thrust downwards of his lovers hips, his own orgasm nearing fast.

“Almost ...” Jack panted, grinding himself down onto Ianto's cock and sending waves of pleasure through his body as it hit his prostate over and over, coming hard he come spurted over his lovers body on long white pearly streams as his arse contracted around the cock buried within.

“Yes, oh god yes!” Ianto exclaimed loudly, his hips bucking wildly as he toppled over the edge and his orgasm him, shooting his essence deep into his lovers body with a shout of his name.

Jack bent forwards to collapse onto his lovers body, stealing a rather chaste kiss before resting his head on his shoulder, both of them panting hard.

“We need to move,” Ianto murmured sleepily some long minutes later. “this table really is hard!”

Jack slowly eased his body off his lovers and dropped his feet down to the floor, holding out a hand to pull Ianto up off his back and not missing the forming bruises along his shoulders, lower back and hips in the lamp light.

“You're going to be aching everywhere in the morning,” Jack frowned, stroking his fingers gently over the marked skin. “you should have said something.”

“No more than your knees,” Ianto smiled, nodding downwards to the purple marks forming on them.

“Perhaps the dining table wasn't the best idea,” Jack frowned.

“What's a little pain when we had so much pleasure?” Ianto asked, reaching up to cup his lovers cheek.

“True, very true,” Jack had to agree. “lets go and clean up and get to bed, who knows when that damn rift will demand our attention again.”

“Or neighbours,” Ianto sighed. “I should give the table a wipe first.”

“It can wait until the morning,” Jack told him, grabbing his hand and leading him from the room before he could protest.

“You never did tell me what was in Ms Coopers loft?” Ianto asked as they ascended the stairs.

“An alien, harmless,” Jack shrugged. “I captured it and it's currently residing in a tin on the kitchen counter, don't worry, it won't suffocate as I made an air hole for it.”

“Shouldn't we deal with I before we go to bed?” Ianto asked.

“Nah, It'll be fine,” Jack answered, leading the way to the bathroom. “I've fed it and gave it water, it's probably asleep now.”

“And in the morning we take it to the hub?” Ianto asked, reaching to turn on the shower.

“I thought we might keep it,” Jack admitted.

“We'll talk about this in the morning,” Ianto told him. “I'm too tired to argue with you about it now.”

“Sure,” Jack grinned, joining his lover under the cascading water.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Ianto tried to peer through the lid of the metal tin on the counter top in the kitchen, jumping back when a large blue eye stared back at him.

“Shit!” He muttered, moving a couple of feet to turn on the coffee machine just as the sound of Jack's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.

“What is that?” Ianto asked, pointing briefly at the tin before collecting two mugs out of the cupboard above him.

“It's harmless,” Jack answered. “a rodent from the planet Xdrodom, the locals called it a nibbler but I have no idea what it's actual species is really called.”

“You're sure it's harmless?” Ianto asked, pouring the coffee into the mugs.

“Completely, they are very docile too and although they are technically vermin, like mice or rats here they are often kept as pets,” Jack explained.

“Oh no!” Ianto warned, waving a teaspoon in the Captains direction.

“What?” Jack asked innocently.

“We're not keeping, no pets, we agreed remember?” Ianto retorted.

“No cats, dog or goldfish,” Jack pouted. “alien rodents were never mentioned.”

“I'd say it was a given,” Ianto sighed.

“I bet you change your mind when you see it,” Jack told him, reaching for the tin and prising the lid open, letting out a little gasp of surprise as he did so.

“What is it? What's wrong? Is it dead?” Ianto asked, peering into the tin. “Oh!”

“So?” Jack asked.

“I thought it would look more like a mouse, or a rat,” Ianto admitted.

“It did, sort of. Or at least it did when I captured it,” Jack replied. “I forgot they weren't meant to eat meat.”

“Meat did this?” Ianto asked, gazing at the creature that was gazing up intently at him with what appeared to be a 'please look after me' look in it's eyes. “Why would anyone not want them to look like this?”

“I have no idea, I was never told,” Jack shrugged. “but you have to admit it looks cute for an alien?”

Ianto studied the creature more closely, it's eyes were of such a blue that they almost rivalled Jack's in colour and they seemed huge in it's head compared to the size of it.

What Ianto didn't know was that the creatures coat had changed from the silvery grey it had been to the pure while colour it was now, it's fur twinkling in the sunlight as it caught it.

The long tail it had had when Jack had captured it was now fluffy instead of smooth like a mouse and he had to admit it looked cute.

“We could keep it at the hub?” Jack suggested when Ianto didn't answer. “All we need it a large cage.”

“We can't really keep it here, if any of the neighbours came upon it it would take some explaining,” Ianto answered.

“Does that mean you don't mind us keeping it at the hub?” Jack asked. “We can't send it back where it came from and it doesn't deserve to die because the rift dragged it here.”

“Yes, yes, we'll take it to the hub,” Ianto agreed. “but you get to feed it, I already take care of Myfanwy and Janet.”

“Consider it done,” Jack nodded, tickling the creatures furry neck with one finger.

“And you get to clean out it's cage too,” Ianto added. “we should have one large enough down in one of the storage rooms.”

“Great, it can live in the corner of my office,” Jack smiled, taking some grapes from the fridge and popping them into the tin before replacing the lid. “We can put the cage on top of something.”

“Such as?” Ianto asked.

“We'll find something,” Jack shrugged, picking up his cooling coffee and taking a long sip.

“Have you given it a name?” Ianto asked curiously.

“Spot?” Jack suggested.

“Spot? It's pure white!” Ianto laughed.

“It's meant to be ironic,” Jack grinned.

“It's your pet, you can call it what you like I suppose,” Ianto told him, shaking his head in amusement.

“Good, Spot it is,” Jack told him. “we really should head into work, we still need to see what we can find out about Toshiko Sato and Doctor Owen Harper if we're going to consider head hunting them for Torchwood.”

“Lets hope they aren't also in some police protection programme,” Ianto answered, taking Jack's empty mug from him and placing it in the dishwasher with his own. “we really need to make time to call in on the other neighbours too.”

“From the looks of it Doctor John Smith and Rose Tyler are still absent from their house,” Jack said. “I've not seen any lights on there since we moved in but it won't hurt to call on Miss Noble.”

“Rift permitting we should visit her this evening,” Ianto agreed. “now grab Spot and lets get going.”

Jack picked up the metal tin containing the alien and followed his lover out into the hallway, passing it to Ianto while he slipped on his coat and then out the door and into Ianto's car to head into work.

As they drove towards the hub Jack found himself hoping that the changing of Spot's physical appearance was the only side effect of feeding the creature meat.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

“We should have started with these two,” Ianto grinned, looking up at Jack. “they've proved to be easy to track down.”

Resting his hands on the younger man's shoulders Jack looked down at the screen, Ianto had tracked down both Doctor Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato and discovered that they both worked for a private medical facility, a clinic and had pulled up both their profiles after bypassing the companies firewalls.

“The Phillips Institute,” Jack read out.

“They specialise in plastic surgery and weight loss,” Ianto told him. “they have nothing but rave reviews from patients.”

“So this Owen Harper is a plastic surgeon?” Jack asked.

“Yep, but before he came to work there he worked as a top surgeon in a large Children's hospital in London,” Ianto answered. “specialising the the treatment of cancer patients.”

“Interesting career move,” Jack said thoughtfully. “what about Toshiko Sato?”

“Freelance computer programmer and analyst, she has a list of degrees as long as my arm,” Ianto told him. “she is one bright cookie.”

“No medical training?” Jack asked.

“None according to her profile,” Ianto confirmed.

“Why would a medical clinic need someone with as much expertise as Toshiko Sato?” Jack mused out loud. “If she's that good she wouldn't settle for a underpaid job.”

“Why do I get the feeling this clinic is not all that it seems?” Ianto asked, turning around to look at the Captain.

“Because things that seem too good to be true often are,” Jack sighed. “it looks like we'll be paying them a visit too, try and get a little more information out of them regarding their jobs.”

“Perhaps we should have a house-warming?” Ianto suggested. “Just a small gathering of our closest neighbours, then was we can ply them with alcohol and it wouldn't seem so obvious as us turning up on their doorsteps to ask them seemingly odd questions?”

“Not much point of the Doctor and Rose Tyler aren't around as I can't see Miss Noble coming if she's as much of a recluse as Ms Cooper said,” Jack replied with a small frown. “it would just be Doctor Harper, Toshiko Sato along with Ms Cooper and her fiancée.”

“Then we should wait a few days, see if the infamous nomads return and then make it a 'spur of the moment' type thing,” Ianto suggested. “if they don't, then it's back to our other plan of dropping in on them one by one.”

“Whatever happens we'll have to call on Miss Donna Noble.” Jack said. “if the rift stays quiet we'll head off over there this afternoon.”

“That's settled then,” Ianto agreed, getting to his feet and reaching for his empty mug. “I really need coffee now though.”

“An even better plan,” Jack replied, following the younger man to the kitchenette and watching him as he got made their coffees.

Jack blew on his before taking a sip, a small smile of delight playing on his lips as always when drinking Ianto's coffee.

“The day I stole you away from the Coffee shop was the best decision I ever made,” Jack grinned. “I knew you had potential Ianto Jones.”

“It was the dragging me along to that warehouse in the middle of the night to catch a Pterodactyl that clinched it,” Ianto admitted. “until that point I just thought you lived in some kinda fantasy world.”

“I couldn't have caught her without you,” Jack told him.

“Well, if you don't keep dinosaur nets in the back of the SUV how on earth did you think you could manage it alone?” Ianto smirked. “And who would have been there to catch you when you fell?”

“True,” Jack admitted. “but how on earth did you know she'd be attracted to dark chocolate?”

“It was a fifty fifty chance,” Ianto chuckled. “luckily for us, it worked.”

“Our first pet and now we have yet another one,” Jack grinned. “I should go and check on Spot I guess.”

“Are they nocturnal?” Ianto asked, following the Captain out of the kitchenette with his mug of coffee and up to his office.

“I don't remember, I think so,” Jack shrugged, quickening his pace up the steps.

“I always thought nocturnal pets were kind of pointless,” Ianto told him, entering the office behind Jack and seeing the creature sleeping in one corner of the large cage now set against one wall of the room. “obviously it likes grapes, but is there anything else we should be feeding it?”

“It has a name,” Jack grumbled. “and Spot will be happy enough to live on fruit, we can get some more later for when he wakes.”

“You're sure it's a boy?” Ianto asked him, finishing his coffee and setting the mug down on the Captains desk.

“No idea, but does it really matter?” Jack asked.

“I guess not, it's not like we're planning on breeding them is it.” Ianto shrugged.

“Nope,” Jack grinned. “one is plenty.”

“Good, no more pets Jack, promise me?” Ianto asked.

“I can't promise anything,” Jack pouted.

“No. More. Pets.” Ianto stated, moving close to the Captain and sliding his arm around his waist.

“No more pets,” Jack agreed reluctantly.

“That's settled then,” Ianto replied then pressed his lips softly to the older man's.

“What was that for?” Jack asked curiously. “Not that I'm complaining.”

“Just sealing it with a kiss,” Ianto smiled.

“We should head out and visit Miss Noble,” Jack said before pressing his lips to Ianto's neck, hearing him sigh with pleasure.

“Would another half an hour make any difference?” Ianto asked as Jack nibbled on his earlobe.

“Nah,” Jack whispered in the same ear.

“Good,” Ianto chuckled and kissed him hard.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

The iron front gate let out a loud, grating sound then Jack pushed it open and made both of them wince as the sound hit their ears.

“It's like a jungle in this garden,” Ianto grumbled following the Captain along the path which consisted of cracked concrete and was overgrown with weeds.

“It's got to be years since anyone did any gardening,” Jack agreed, using his coat covered arm to push away a particularly nasty clump of stinging nettles out of the way and let Ianto pass before releasing them again.

“At least the insects seem to like it,” Ianto observed, watching the bees, wasps, butterflies and many others flitting around between the flowers and weeds.

“If the bees ever leave the planet for home we'll know we're in trouble,” Jack replied a little distractedly, trying to peer in one of the filthy windows.

“Are you trying to tell me that the bees are aliens?” Ianto asked, wondering if the Captain was joking.

“Not all of them,” Jack shrugged, chuckling softly at the look of amazement on the younger man's face. “but it's true I promise.”

“Bloody hell, it's a good job it's not general knowledge or the government would be capturing them for experiments,” Ianto retorted.

“Luckily for them,” Jack agreed. “I can't see a damn thing, these windows haven't been cleaned in forever.”

“We could just try knocking on the door?” Ianto suggested, looking at the wooden door before him that had seen better days, a very long time ago.

“No time like the present,” Jack agreed, rapping on the door with his knuckles.

Shortly after they could make out the sound of footsteps moving closer and closer towards the other side of the door and then the sound of a chain being put across before it was opened slowly.

“Who is it? What do you want?” The woman's voice boomed through the gap.

“I'm Captain Jack Harkness and this is my partner, Ianto Jones,” Jack explained. “we've just moved into 42 and thought we'd introduce ourselves to our neighbours.”

“I'm Donna, I'm sure the local gossips have already filled you in about me,” Donna snarked.

“Not really,” Jack told her. “we've not many of them as yet.”

“I bet you've met Gwen Cooper thought, yes?” Donna asked. “She's the biggest gossip in the street.”

“We don't tend to heed gossip,” Ianto chimed in. “we like to judge people for ourselves.”

“I 'spose you want to come in then?” Donna asked.

“Only if you have the time,” Jack smiled.

With that she closed the door, Jack and Ianto glanced at each other and were about to leave when they heard the sound of the chain being removed and the door creaked open again.

If they were both surprised when they caught their first glimpse of Donna Noble in the afternoon sun neither of them showed it, her hair shone bright red as the light caught it and she was tastefully dressed.

“Come in then,” her voice was almost one of command. “follow me.”

Jack walked in first, waiting for Ianto to enter before pushing the door closed and the pair of them followed the woman along the hallway into the living room.

“Have a seat,” she urged them waving at the sofa on one side of the fireplace, a fire was burning in the grate as despite the warm afternoon sunshine the room seemed freezing cold.

“Thank you,” Ianto told her politely, taking a seat and pulling Jack down beside him.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Donna asked them.

“I'm fine thank you,” Ianto replied.

“A glass of water would be good,” Jack told her with a grin.

“Of course,” Donna smiled back and promptly left the room.

“Gwen was right about the inside of the house,” Ianto whispered to Jack as soon as she was out of sight. “it's like no-one lives here.”

“Hmm, the bare minimum with no ornaments of any kind and by the looks of it not a smattering of dust,” Jack observed. “but that doesn't mean she isn't just a minimalist who likes to clean.”

Something caught the corner of Ianto's eye and he turned his head to see a large white, fluffy cat sit on the carpet a few feet away and seemingly watch them intently.

“I would never have guessed that she had a pet,” Ianto said, a small frown wrinkling his brow.

“No sign of pet hairs anywhere,” Jack nodded.

“Here we are,” Donna announced, somehow a little too brightly as she reappeared with a glass of water in her hand and handed it to Jack before taking a seat in the armchair opposite them.

“Gorgeous cat,” Ianto said.

“He is, isn't he,” Donna smiled. “he's the perfect companion, can't answer back and he loves to keep me company.”

“You have a lovely home,” Jack smiled.

“Thank you, I'm afraid I just can't seem to get to grips with the garden, I guess I should get someone in but ...” she trailed off. “anyway, it's good for the wildlife and the environment for the garden to be a little wild.”

Ianto almost burst out laughing at her description of the garden being a 'little wild' but managed to hold it back.

“But I do like the house to be just so,” she continued. “I can't stand living in clutter or untidiness.”

“I'm a little like that myself,” Ianto told her with a smile.

“Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you,” Donna told them, getting to her feet and relieving Jack of the empty water glass and indicating that their visit was over. “but I really need to get on, work to do.”

“Of course,” Jack replied, he and Ianto following her back down the hallway again towards the front door.

This time one of the other doors off the hallway was slightly ajar, Jack glanced through the gap as they passed and frowned but waited until they were out of the house before mentioning it to Ianto.

“Did you see into that other room?” Jack asked as they walked across the street to their own house.

“No why?” He asked.

“It was completely empty, nothing at all in it,” Jack answered. “I don't know about you but I think I'm inclined to agree with Ms Cooper that Miss Noble isn't what she seems.”

“Yep, I couldn't put my finger on it but something felt wrong in that house,” Ianto agreed.

“We need to check those police records like we planned, just to see if she is in a relocation programme or not,” Jack said, following Ianto into their home. “it's very unusual not to find any kind of ID for someone.”

“I'll get onto it first thing in the morning,” Ianto agreed, heading for the kitchen to switch the coffee machine on and grab the takeaway menu's.

*~*~*

Donna picked up the cat and stroked the top of his head affectionately while watching out the dirt smeared window while the two men walked away.

“There's something I don't trust about those two,” she said to the cat. “we're going to have to be extra careful from now on I think.”

The cat looked into her eyes before liking a stripe up her cheek and then leapt from her arms onto the floor and then up onto the window ledge, it looked at the men for a moment before turning to look at her again.

“I think you could be right,” the cat agreed.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Two days later ...

“Look, there's lights on at number 43,” Ianto observed as they drove into their street. “the wanderers must have returned home.”

“Then we should have our little impromptu house warming party soon, if what Ms Cooper says is true they might be off again before we know it,” Jack answered, pulling onto the driveway and turning off the ignition.

Neither of them made any attempt to move, they were both watching the house opposite in the rear view mirror, waiting to see if they could spot either of the occupants.

“We should go in,” Ianto said finally a few minutes later. “or we'll have Gwen over here wanting to know what's wrong.”

“So very true,” Jack agreed, copying his lovers actions and removing his seatbelt and then opening his door and finishing. “dammit, it too late.”

“Hi,” Gwen called out from across the road, waving frantically at them as she hurried closed her front door and rushed over towards them. “is everything okay?”

“Of course, why shouldn't it be?” Ianto asked her.

“I just noticed that you sat in your car for a while, I thought something must be up?” She shrugged.

“Nope, nothing,” Ianto told her and pulled his door keys from his pocket.

“I was wondering ... am I right in thinking that you visited Donna a couple of days ago?” Gwen asked, not taking the hint when they moved towards their own front door. “What did you think of her, did she strike you as strange?”

“Maybe a little obsessive but nothing else really,” Jack answered, not wanting to discuss it with her.

“You didn't sense that something wasn't quite right, something you couldn't put your finger on?” She pushed.

“Not that we noticed, she just seemed like a normal single lady,” Ianto told her. “who keeps herself to herself, hates gardening and loves her cat.”

“The white one or the ginger one?” Gwen asked.

“White, you mean she has two?” Jack asked, not really caring.

“Yeah and I have no idea how she keeps everything so hair free with the two of them in the house,” Gwen answered. “I wish I knew her secret and then I might let Rhys have the dog he's always wanted.”

“Maybe you could just ask her?” Ianto suggested.

“No ... no, it's fine,” Gwen replied with a small but visible shudder.

“She really creeps you out that much?” Jack asked.

Gwen nodded. “And not just here, those cats too!”

Jack couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his lips.

“I'm sorry,” he apologised. “I'm sure there's nothing that strange about her.”

“Then we'll have to agree to disagree,” Gwen told him. “I should get back home to Rhys.”

“Before you go, we were thinking of having a small house warming party at the weekend, will you and Rhys be able to attend?” Jack asked her. “just a few of the nearest neighbours so we can get to know them a little.”

“We've not got anything planned,” Gwen smiled. “we'll be there for sure.”

“Great, we'll put an invitation with the time etc through your door when they're ready,” Jack told her. “Night,”

“Night,” Gwen replied and then hurried across the road back to her own house.

“I warned you,” Ianto chuckled, letting them in through their front door.

“She's just worried about Donna,” Jack shrugged. “and to tell the truth, I think she might be right. Come to think of it, did you get the feeling that cat was actually listening to what we said?”

“No that has to be your imagination working overtime,” Ianto chuckled.

“Maybe,” Jack agreed.

“You'd have thought she'd have mentioned the other cat, what with her being so fond of the white one,” Ianto replied.

“Perhaps she didn't think it was any of our business,” Jack answered. “anyway, I'm sure we'll see it soon enough.”

“So, we're home now, what do you fancy for dinner?” Ianto asked.

“A not very subtle way to change the subject,” Jack laughed, reaching out to grab his lovers hands and pull him into his arms.

“The whole point of us moving here, into the suburbs was to try and have a normal life outside of work,” Ianto answered. “our neighbours don't seem to be making that easy but we're in our own house alone and there are more pressing things to be thinking about.”

“Really, such as?” Jack asked, pressing his body to his lovers.

“Food, I don't know about you but I am starving!” Ianto exclaimed with a smirk.

“As am I, but not for food,” Jack grinned widely. “well, maybe a little if I am honest but I'm more hungry for you.”

“So, what do you fancy then?” Ianto asked, well aware that his cock was pressing into the Captains thigh invitingly.

“You're lips, cock, arse ...” Jack smirked. “the list could go on and on.”

“I was talking about food,” Ianto replied with a mock sigh.

“Then I really should do something to take your mind off it,” Jack told him, a hand sliding around his lover to cup his arse.

“That helped a little, it's going to take a hell of a lot more though to ignore my rumbling stomach,” Ianto told him with a straight face.

“Any preference on which room?” Jack asked, his other hand reaching for his lovers belt.

“Here in the living room seems just fine to me,” Ianto answered, glancing around. “we might want to close the curtains first though.”

“Now what happened to your sense of adventure?” Jack grinned, releasing the younger man's trousers and pushing them south along with his briefs before dropping down onto his knees before him. 

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Reaching behind him Ianto rested his hands on the arm of the sofa behind him, his eyes closing as Jack's tongue ran up the full length of his cock and then back down again to circle his balls one at a time drawing a long moan of pleasure from his lips.

“Good?” Jack asked, looking up at his lover.

“Mmmm,” Ianto mumbled back.

Jack took a minute to pull off the younger man's shoes and socks and then remove his trousers and briefs, putting them to one side before encouraging his legs further apart with his hands.

Pressing kisses to one of his lovers thighs the Captain reached up and cupped his balls in his hand, rolling them in his palm he began to nip at the smooth tender flesh.

First one thigh and then the other, soothing each with the flat of his tongue alternately and working his way higher and higher until he was lapping at the balls in the palm of his hand.

Hearing the younger man's breath hitch Jack sucked one of his balls into his mouth, using his tongue to taste every inch before releasing it and repeating his ministrations on the other while Ianto panted and moaned softly above him.

“Please ...” the word slipped from Ianto's lips.

With a smile the Captain's mouth moved upwards, pressing butterfly kisses up the full length of his lovers cock, pressing a final one to the head before delving his tongue into the weeping slit and causing Ianto to cant his hips upwards.

“You taste delicious,” Jack said huskily, delving in for more and savouring his lovers unique taste.

“Oh ... god ...” Ianto mumbled.

Jack took the head of his lovers cock into his mouth and began to suck slowly and firmly, his hand moving between Ianto's legs and into the crevice of his arse to seek out the small tight hole hidden within.

Finding the entrance to his lovers body he slowly circled it with his finger, feeling the muscle quiver beneath his touch he took a little more of Ianto's cock into his mouth and increased his suction around it causing him to moan out loud.

Cautiously Jack pushed his finger against his lovers hole, the lack of lube making him go slower than normal and eased in the very tip of his finger then relaxed his throat and took his full length into his mouth.

“Make me come, need to come ...” Ianto panted, one arm moving from the sofa behind him to grasp at the Captains hair while his hips began to move in earnest, fucking his lovers mouth and then pushing back on the finger pressing into his arse.

Jack hollowed his cheeks and sucked harder, his tongue working along side and bringing his lover closer and closer to the edge, feeling it swell just that little bit more as his orgasm hit and a yell coming from his lovers mouth as his come spurted in warm streams down his throat.

The Captain drank down every drop before releasing his lovers softening cock from his mouth, his tongue delving into the slit one final time before he looked up to see his lovers flushed face.

“Enjoy that?” Jack asked, getting up of his knees, his hand pressing against his own erection still confined within his trousers.

“Yeah,” Ianto panted, trying to get his breath back, his heart pounding.

Leaning forwards Jack pressed his lips to his lovers, swallowing his pants and delving into his mouth with his tongue knowing how much Ianto loved the taste of himself mixed with that of his own.

Ianto's hand grasped the back of the Captains head, kissing him hard. Their teeth clashing as they fought for dominance, the kiss messy and passionate until they had to part to gasp for oxygen.

“I've had your cock and your lips,” Jack panted with a grin. “now I get to have your arse.”

“All yours,” Ianto told him, reaching into the Captains pocket and pulling out the small tube of lube he knew he would find there.

“Turn around,” Jack told him.

Ianto turned to face the sofa, resting his forearms on the arm of the sofa he bent over and spread his legs wide, raising his arse in the air.

“Not too much lube, I want to feel you,” Ianto told him, glancing back at his lover, his pupils blown completely with lust.

“Whatever you want,” Jack agreed, leaning down to plant a brief kiss to his lips while he squeezed a small amount of lube onto his fingers and rubbed them together.

Parting his lovers buttocks with his hands Jack bent forwards and planted a kiss on the entrance to his body, his tongue flicking over the already relaxing muscle and feeling it twitch around it before sliding the tip of his finger back into the tight hole.

Slowly the Captain pushed his finger further and further inside the tight channel, Ianto moaning softly as he pushed back on the digit and taking it deep inside his body.

“Touch yourself, make yourself hard again,” Jack told him, sliding the finger backwards until it was almost out and adding a second.

Ianto shifted his weight so he was resting on one arm and reached between his legs for his own cock, feeling it already half hard again he began to stroke it slowly and firmly while Jack's fingers fucked him from behind.

“Now” Ianto demanded.

“You're still so tight,” Jack replied, placing a kiss to the younger man's shoulder.

“I want to be tight, I want to feel you completely, I want you to feel me so tightly around you,” Ianto insisted. “I want to feel every inch of you buried inside me.”

Jack slowly slid his fingers from his lovers body and quickly unbuckled his belt, released his trousers and pulled his cock free from the confines of his clothes.

As an after thought he went to push his braces from his shoulders so he could push his trousers out of the way but he stopped when Ianto spoke.

“No, don't,” Ianto said quietly.

Jack nodded knowing exactly what he meant and reached for the lube, after coating his cock quickly he pressed the head to his lovers hole and began slowly to push it inside causing them both to moan out in pleasure, not stopping until he was fully seated within his lovers body.

Feeling the rough wool of the Captains trousers pushing against his buttocks and thighs sent tingles of pleasure through Ianto's body, his hand working faster and faster on his now fully hard cock as Jack began to fuck him.

“Damn you're tight,” Jack groaned appreciatively, moving slowly and savouring every second of the feeling. “tight and hot.”

“Harder,” Ianto told him, his hips thrusting back to meet the Captains.

Placing his hands on his lovers hips to give him more leverage Jack began to move faster until he was pounding into his lovers arse, the sounds of their moans and flesh hitting flesh echoed around the room.

Changing his angle slightly Jack knew he'd hit the right spot when his lover let out a loud gasp.

“There, just there!” Ianto was almost shouting at the Captain.

“Come for me, can you do that?” Jack asked.

“Oh yeah!” Ianto groaned in exclamation as Jack's thrusts continued to hit his prostate.

“Soon ... soon,” Jack urged, his thrusts getting harder and harder, his fingers digging into his the flesh of his lovers hips so hard they would leave marks.

“Nearly ...” Ianto panted, fisting his cock almost violently until his second orgasm finally hit, his come shooting over the sofa before him he collapsed onto the arm of the chair as he heard Jack yell his name and felt him shoot his own essence deep into his arse.

Jack dropped down to rest his chest against his lovers back, their breathing ragged and their hearts pounding they just stayed there until their legs felt less like jelly.

Slowly the Captain pulled his cock from the younger man's body and eased himself up into an upright position, then pulled Ianto up into his arms and kissed him tenderly.

“I have something for you,” Ianto smiled and raised his hand, offering two fingers to the captains lips.

Jack sucked the fingers into his mouth and devoured the spilt come greedily, then licked his lips.

“Another room christened,” Ianto chuckled softly.

“And many more to go,” Jack grinned. “then we can start all over again.”

“That sounds like a good plan to me,” Ianto laughed. “We should clean up.”

“We haven't done it in the bathroom yet,” Jack mused out loud.

“We'll save that for another day,” Ianto retorted, taking Jack's hand and leading him from the room, neither of them noticing the two cats, one white and one ginger sat on the window ledge outside and looking in.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

“Right, foods ready, beer and white wine chilling in the fridge and now all we have to do is wait for the guests to arrive,” Ianto stated, checking around the living room that everything was in place. “do you think they'll all turn up?”

 

“They all sent back RSVP's so I imagine they will,” Jack smiled, wrapping his arms around his lovers waist and pulling him close so he could place a soft, lingering kiss to his lips.

“It's almost eight, I need to get changed,” Ianto told him, attempting to pull out of his lovers arms but Jack held on tight.

“What's wrong with what you're wearing?” Jack asked, casting an eye appreciatively over Ianto's shirt and tie clad chest.

“I've been wearing this suit all day, I thought I wear something a little more casual,” Ianto answered. “a suit is a tad too formal to wear to a party, even for me.”

“Jeans?” Jack asked, his face brightening at the prospect.

“Yep, the black ones with my deep red shirt,” Ianto replied with a grin, knowing what that certain combination of clothing did to the Captain.

“Do you still have that studded belt of yours?” Jack asked, unsure if he had seen it since they had moved.

“I do,” Ianto grinned. “any particular reason for asking?”

“It would finish off your planned outfit perfectly,” Jack told him. “what would make it completely perfect would be knowing that you're not wearing any underwear either.”

“Yeah?” Ianto chuckled.

“Yeah, all evening I'll be thinking about stripping you out of that outfit and having my way with you,” Jack answered, his hands sliding down his lovers body to cup his arse.

“On one condition,” Ianto grinned.

“Go on,” Jack urged.

“You have to wear jeans too, that pair I bought you are still sitting unworn in the wardrobe and I know your arse will fill them out perfect,” Ianto answered. “wear them with that shirt that matches your eyes, it'll go great with the dark blue of the jeans.”

“And no underwear?” Jack asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Of course,” Ianto agreed. “but I get the feeling we might be kicking our guests out earlier than planned.”

“I won't argue with that,” Jack told him.

“We could just turn all the lights out and pretend we're not here?” Ianto suggested making Jack laugh loudly.

“No, we'll have to go through with it,” Jack told him. “and we need to get changed before our first guests arrive, what's the betting it's Gwen and her fiancée?”

“I have no doubt,” Ianto agreed, pulling out of the Captains embrace and taking his hand to lead him out the room and upstairs.

They were barely dressed when they were disturbed by the doorbell ringing followed by a loud knocking on the front door.

“Gwen,” Ianto confirmed, glancing out the bedroom window. “and a man I'm assuming is her fiancée.”

“We better let them in then,” Jack replied, leaning forwards to steal one last kiss from his lover as the knocking on the door came again and they pulled apart to go a little reluctantly downstairs.

“Gwen, good to see you again,” Jack said a little too brightly as he swung open the front door. “and you must be Rhys, good to meet you, please come in.”

“Are we the first?” Gwen asked, her eyes scanning the empty living room once they were lead into it.

“You are, most prompt of you,” Ianto told her with a sly eye roll at the Captain.

“Gwen hates to be late,” Rhys told them with a laugh. “scared she'll miss something, I think it's the copper in her.”

“I just think it's rude to be late,” Gwen huffed and then smiled at him.

“Drink?” Ianto offered.

“A glass of wine would be lovely,” Gwen answered, making herself comfortable on the sofa.

“And for you Rhys?” Jack asked.

“A beer if you have one, thanks,” Rhys answered.

Ianto nodded in the affirmative just as the doorbell rang again.

“I'll get the drinks, you get the door,” Ianto suggested to Jack, already making his way out of the room.

Jack excused himself and went to answer the door, finding a cute Japanese woman and a skinny man waiting on the doorstep.

“Doctor Owen Harper,” the man introduced himself. “this is my wife Toshiko, I hope we're not to early?”

“Not at all, I'm Captain Jack Harkness” Jack replied, spotting the final couple heading down the path towards them. “would you like to go through to the living room, Gwen and Rhys are already here and my partner is just fetching drinks, down the hall to the left .”

“Thank you,” Toshiko said polite and moved into the house with her husband.

“You must be John Smith and Rose Tyler, I've been hearing that you are hard to pin down,” Jack greeted them with a smile. “we're so happy you stayed around long enough to make our party, I'm Captain Jack Harkness.”

“We were happy to get the invite,” Rose smiled.

“And we thought it would be rude to rush off again without coming and meeting out new neighbours,” the Doctor added. “please, call me Doctor, everyone else does.”

“What are you a doctor of?” Jack asked curiously.

“Oh this and that,” the Doctor replied. “now where's the food I'm starving, do you have an bananas? And any chance of a cup of tea?”

“He doesn't drink,” Rose said with a small laugh at the look on Jack's face.

“I'm not much of a drinker myself,” Jack admitted. “please come in, I'm sure we can accommodate you.”

“Brilliant!” The Doctor exclaimed, finally entering the house with Rose's hand firmly in his and following Jack through to the living room.

“Ianto, this is John Smith, sorry, the Doctor and Rose Tyler,” Jack introduced them to his lover. “Doctor, Rose, this is my partner Ianto Jones.”

“Glad you could make it, can I get you a drink?” Ianto asked them politely.

“The Doctor will have a cup of tea, and you Rose?” Jack asked her.

“Wine please,” she asked, seeing both Toshiko and Gwen sporting glasses of the beverage.

“Please, chat among yourselves, we'll be back with your drinks momentarily,” Ianto told them, leaving the room with Jack following.

“Would you mind if we put some music on?” Rose called out after them.

“Help yourself,” Jack called back and hurried after Ianto, finding him filling the kettle in the kitchen.

“This looks set to be either a very interesting evening or a complete nightmare,” Jack said, pouring the glass of wine while Ianto prepared the cup of tea.

“We just need to ply them with lots of booze, well, maybe not Gwen and Rhys so we can get to know them better,” Ianto answered. “perhaps we should sneak some vodka in the Doctor's tea?”

“Best not, we don't know why he doesn't drink,” Jack replied. “he could be a recovering alcoholic or allergic.”

“True,” Ianto conceded. “maybe we can tempt him with something else.”

“He did mention something about bananas,” Jack laughed softly, watching his lover finish the cup of tea.

“I don't think they'll work somehow,” Ianto laughed back. “right, time to get back to our guests.”

“Well, at least they already know each other,” Jack answered.

“Yeah, but just how well?” Ianto asked.

“Maybe not as well as they think,” Jack replied, following Ianto back to the living room.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

“So, Doctor,” Jack began. “can I call you Doctor?”

“He insists on it,” Rose butted in with a big smile.

“I do,” the Doctor agreed nodding and taking a sip of his fourth cup of tea.

“I hear you two are great travellers and that we're lucky to have caught you before you disappeared off again?” Jack asked.

“Life is one long whirl of excitement with the Doctor,” Rose said before the Doctor could respond.

“I've always been a bit of a nomad,” the Doctor added. “I lost all my family a long time ago, many of them in a war so I don't really have any roots.”

Were did you go off to last?” Ianto asked.

“Barcelona,” the Doctor grinned. “fantastic place.”

“It was different, I'll give it that,” Rose added before giggling to herself.

“Out of season there is it?” Jack asked.

“I don't understand what you mean?” The Doctor replied, frowning slightly.

“I believe what Jack means is that neither of you have a tan,” Ianto answered.

“Ah, yes ... well ...” the Doctor stuttered a little.

“Apparently it was the worst weather they've had in centuries,” Rose chimed in. “we were wearing our coats half the time.”

“It didn't spoil the trip though,” the Doctor added.

“And there's nothing to stop us going again,” Rose told them with a big smile.

The Doctor leaned sidewards and whispered something in her ear making her giggle again.

“Where are you planning to go next?” Ianto asked them.

“No idea, we always go on the spur of the moment, see where fate takes us,” the Doctor replied. “much more fun that way, are you sure you don't have any bananas?”

“I'm sorry, it's not something we thought we'd need for a party, but I could always go and get some I suppose, if you'd really like one?” Ianto answered.

“I make a mean Banana Daiquiri!” The Doctor told them excitedly. “You should always have bananas around, bananas are brilliant!”

“I thought you didn't drink alcohol?” Jack replied.

“I can always make an exception where banana's are concerned,” the Doctor grinned. “but I don't expect you to go to any trouble on my account, I'll survive an evening with out a banana.”

“If you're sure?” Ianto asked him.

“Positive,” the Doctor assured him.

“You sound like you're from London Rose, is that right?” Jack asked her.

“Yeah, my mum and I lived on a council estate, she's still there actually,” Rose told him. “my life was one big bore of working in a shop and eating chips until the Doctor came alone and took me away from it all.”

“You're father's not around?” Ianto asked.

“He died when I was a baby,” Rose said, her sadness evident in her voice. “but I think he'd be happy for me, if he knew how my life is now.”

“We know he is,” the Doctor said without thinking and caught the warning glance from Rose, it wasn't missed by either Jack or Ianto however.

“So, neither of you work, how on earth do you fund your trips?” Ianto asked, feeling a little nosy but getting more and more intrigued by the couple.

“Large inheritance,” the Doctor replied quickly. “and travelling doesn't have to cost much if you have the right means.”

Rose turned her head to look at the Doctor again and for the first time Jack spotted the earrings hanging from her ears, they were long and delicate and the more he looked at the the more he was convinced they were not made of any metal found on Earth.

“Pretty earrings, did you get them around here?” Jack found himself asking. “It's Ianto's sisters birthday soon, she'd love something like them.”

“They're from a market, but not locally, sorry,” Rose shrugged, her hand reaching up to touch of them instinctively. “I can't remember the exact place either.”

“They're very pretty,” Ianto added. “what are they made of, do you know?”

“I think the stall holder said silver but I'm not sure,” Rose told him.

“No matter, I'm sure I'll find something for my sister that she'll like,” Ianto replied, one glance at Jack told him he was thinking the same thing that had just occurred to him, that the earrings were of alien origin.

“That jewellers in the city centre have some great earrings,” Rose suggested.

“I'll try and find the time to have a look,” Ianto told her. “thanks.”

“So, Jack, a Captain eh?” The Doctor asked, changing the subject. “A Captain of what?”

“I was in the RAF originally, now I work for the government,” Jack answered the lie slipping easily from his mouth.

“Anything interesting, are you a spy?” Rose asked excitedly.

“Now would I tell you if I was?” Jack chuckled.

“I guess not,” Rose sighed, her face falling.

“I'm not a spy, just a boring office worker,” Jack told her. “Ianto and I met at work.”

“Oh, they don't mind their employees fraternising then?” Rose asked interestedly.

“They frown on it officially but not really, no.” Ianto put in.

“So, snogging among the filing cabinets then?” Rose giggled making Ianto blush red instantly and rush off saying something about putting the kettle on again.

“Yeah, something like that,” Jack agreed. “I should go and mingle with the other neighbours a little, we'll talk again later, yes?”

“Of course,” the Doctor agreed, waiting to Jack was out of earshot before turning to Rose.

“I told you not to wear those earrings,” the Doctor whispered to her.

“He can know they are alien, surely?” Rose whispered back.

“They were both giving them strange looks, perhaps there's more to our neighbours than we think?” the Doctor suggested.

“Government agency, do you think they might work for UNIT?” Rose asked.

“It's possible, I think we should do a little checking when in the morning,” the Doctor told her. “but for the rest of this evening, mind what you say and keep your ears open.”

“Will do,” Rose agreed. “but now I need another glass of wine.”

With that she slid away to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of white wine from the fridge where Ianto had shown her earlier and filled her glass, turning to face the window she spotted the ginger cat from down the street gazing in at her.

“Hey kitty, you want to come to the party?” She asked it, even though it wouldn't have heard her though the window.

Rose was about to open the window to let it inside when it leapt down and ran off across the garden.

“Suit yourself,” Rose told it with a smile and deciding she needed the loo headed up to the bathroom.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

“More wine?” Ianto asked, holding out the chilled bottle of white towards Toshiko's glass.

“Thank you,” she replied politely, holding the glass steady as Ianto topped it up to the brim.

“I hope you're helping yourself to the buffet?” Ianto said, sitting down on the seat beside hers.

“I am. Owen, is getting us some more thanks,” Toshiko smiled at him. “have you and Jack been together long?”

“About three years, we finally decided we needed a proper place together instead of going back and forth between my flat and his ... well, bedsit I guess some might call it,” Ianto answered. “a little haven in suburbia where we could get away from work.”

“What line of work are you in?” Toshiko asked sounding interested.

“I work for the government,” Ianto explained. “nothing exciting.”

“And Jack?” She continued.

“It's where we met, he's technically my boss,” Ianto told her with a shy smile. “he hired me.”

“Does it make it awkward at work?” Toshiko asked him.

“No, not really as theirs only the two of us in our department,” Ianto answered happily. “I believe I heard somewhere that you and Owen work together too?”

“That somewhere wouldn't happen to be Gwen would it?” Toshiko laughed.

“How on earth did you guess?” Ianto chuckled.

“She's infamous for being the gossip around here,” Toshiko grinned. “and in answer to your question, yes we work together but not in the same department.”

“Owen's a doctor isn't he?” Ianto asked, taking a sip from his own wine glass.

“Yes, a plastic surgeon at the Phillips Institute, have you heard of it?” Toshiko answered.

“It's famous around here for it's weight loss programme and plastic surgery, I believe it has nothing but rave reviews?” Ianto asked, feigning ignorance.

“The doctors there are brilliant,” Toshiko beamed. “and I'm not just saying that because my husband is one.”

“Has he always been a plastic surgeon?” Ianto pushed.

“No, when we met he specialised in cancer in children,” Tosh replied, the tone of her voice turning sad. “he might seem rather sarcastic at times with people but he cared too much about those kids, you wouldn't believe how may evenings he cried into a glass of scotch when he couldn't help save one of them.”

“He doesn't look the sort,” Ianto admitted.

“He lost someone he worked with, she died of a rare brain cancer just after we met and it was the final straw,” Toshiko sighed. “he couldn't be around death any longer and that's when we both moved here to work at the institute.”

“Making people beautiful instead?” Ianto asked with a smile.

“Some but he does a lot for people injured or born disfigured too,” Toshiko replied. “he's not really part of the weight loss side of the company.”

“And you, what do you do?” Ianto enquired.

“I'm in charge of the computers,” Tosh told him enthusiastically. “I make sure they are all running correctly and I'm in the process of constructing my own mainframe that can handle anything we throw at it.”

“Patients notes, contacts and that kind of thing?” Ianto asked.

“Yes. Among other things,” Toshiko replied. “we do a lot of behind the scenes drug testing too, not on animals or people though I hasten to add.”

“Then what kind of testing is it?” Ianto pushed.

“We use the computers to give what are very accurate results,” Toshiko explained. “once we're happy with them we send our findings to the relevant people and they create the drug and do the drug trials.”

“It all sounds very intriguing,” Ianto nodded. “do you know anything about the weight loss side?”

“Only that the drug we've managed to produce is performing to it's full potential,” Toshiko raved excitedly. “we've only used it on a small selection of people so far and all the results are positive, once we have sufficient data to show it works and is one hundred percent safe we can market it world and make obesity a thing of the past!”

“I don't suppose you can tell me what the wonder ingredient is?” Ianto smiled. “My sister always said she'd kill to be able to lose a few pounds.”

“No, sorry it's a trade secret,” Toshiko grinned at him.

“I thought as much,” Ianto retorted with a fake sigh that made the woman giggle. “I should get back to the mingling before the other guests think I'm ignoring them.”

“And we couldn't have that, could we?” Toshiko joked.

“It looks like your husband has finally finished at the buffet table,” Ianto told her, getting to his feet. “and from the way those plates are piled up you won't need to eat for another week!”

“He loves his food, I just wish I knew where he put it,” Toshiko grinned. “he's one person who'll never need a diet pill.”

“Yeah,” Ianto chuckled and the thin, wiry man made his way towards them. “I'll talk to you again later, yes?”

“I hope so,” Toshiko smiled and then accepted the plate of food from her husband as Ianto headed off across the room towards his partner.

“Did you get anything out of the lovely Toshiko?” Jack asked Ianto, downing almost half a pint of water in a few long gulps.

“A little insight into the workings of the Phillips Institute, I'll fill you in later,” Ianto told him. “hey, that cat's back.”

Jack looked out the window and spotted the white cat perched in the window ledge outside.

“It looks like it wants to join in with the party,” Jack chuckled.

“It's a cat Jack, it's just nosy,” Ianto laughed.

“I guess so,” Jack replied, watching the way it seemed to be gazing at them and their guests with more than normal feline curiosity. “probably.”

“You don't sound sure?” Ianto asked, cocking an eyebrow at his lover.

“It's nothing,” Jack said shaking his head. “I should go and mingle again.”

“I need another drink,” Ianto informed him, heading off to the kitchen, this time for a bottle of beer and spotting the ginger cat peering in through the window.

He got the beer from the fridge and popped off the lid with the bottle opener, leaned his back against the work top and stood watching it for a few minutes before deciding Jack was making him think the cats were not quite normal and headed back to the party.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

“Look at the mess,” Ianto groaned, one hand pressed to his forehead.

“That's what happens you you throw a party,” Jack said softly, pressing a kiss to his lovers brow. “hangover?”

“A little,” Ianto admitted. “I really should know better than to mix my drinks.”

“No-one does what they should at parties,” Jack replied. “go and have a hot shower while I sort out some of this mess.”

“I can't leave you alone to do all this,” Ianto sighed, eyeing up the empty bottles, glasses and plates that were scattered around the room along with the left over food on the far table.

“Yes, you can,” Jack chuckled softly, gently grabbing Ianto by the shoulders, turning him to face the door and giving him a gentle shove in it's direction.

“Fine, but I won't be long,” Ianto conceded, leaving the room and Jack could hear the padding of his lovers bare feet making their way up the stairs.

Jack opened a black plastic rubbish sack and started with the buffet table, tossing the left over food into the bag along with the paper plates it resided on and then finally the paper table cloth.

Then he gathered together all the glass bottles and put them together read to go to the glass recycling bins at the supermarket and then collected all the empty paper plates and added them to the sack.

Finally he gathered up the empty wine and beer glasses and took them through to the kitchen, placing them a little haphazardly in the dishwasher and by the time Ianto reappeared dressed and towelling his hair Jack had almost got the house back to it's former tidy state.

“You should have left me with something to do,” Ianto sighed, sliding an arms around the Captains waist and kissing him softly on the lips.

“We still need to vacuum and wash the kitchen floor, have you seen out sticky the kitchen floor is?” Jack asked.

“I vaguely remember someone spilling a whole glass of beer over it ...” Ianto answered and trailed off as he tried to remember the incident properly.

“It was Rhys and you were too tipsy to care,” Jack said affectionately. “Rhys and I mopped it up with some paper kitchen towels but we didn't do a great job.”

“Rhys seems like a good, level headed bloke,” Ianto replied. “from what we've seen of Gwen he'll do her good.”

“He's invited us to the wedding but he was rather drunk so we'll have to wait and see if a proper invite turns up,” Jack grinned. “anyway the floors can wait until later, you just make us some coffee while I shower and then we'll have to head into the Hub.”

“And we should discuss the information Toshiko gave me last night on the Phillips Institute,” Ianto nodded. “I think we need to delve deeper into that company, she wouldn't me anything about the weight loss programme, just that the miracle ingredient was a trade secret.”

“Why do I get the feeling that something alien is involved?” Jack asked.

“Because when something is too good to be true these days, it usually is,” Ianto answered. “it wouldn't be the first time, would it?”

“True, very true,” Jack sighed. “I'll go shower and we can talk about this more when we get to the Hub.”

“And I will take some painkillers and make the coffee,” Ianto told him, letting Jack slip from his grasp he headed to the kitchen to do so.

They were driving towards the Plass listening to the police channel when they overheard a scuffle coming from where one of the officers had been called to.

“I need armed backup now,” the man's voice came urgently down the line. “there's three of them, all wearing masks and terrorising the staff and customers of the M&S.”

“Wearing masks?” A woman commented back.

“Yeah, fucking scary ones too,” the officer confirmed. “very realistic and at least one of the staff has been hurt, bitten so I'm told.”

“Weevils, shit!” Jack grumbled, pressing his foot down to the floor on the acceleration pedal and gunning the car towards the hub.

They screeched into the underground car park and stopped abruptly in the paring space next to the Torchwood SUV and abandoned it quickly, clambering into the other vehicle and left again just as fast to hurtle towards the large M&S in the middle of the city.

They could both see the looks on the police officers faces when they stopped outside the main entrance of the shop, they wasted no time in exiting them car and strode towards them, flashing their Torchwood ID as they barged past.

“This is a Torchwood case now, please call your officers away while we deal with the situation,” Jack ordered, not waiting for an answer he entered the shop with Ianto at his side.

The source of the commotion was coming from the back of the shop, weapons drawn, Jack with his Webley and Ianto with both his Torchwood issue handgun and a stun gun they ran down the full length of the shop.

“Everybody out now,” Jack demanded, moving to put himself between the civilians and the Weevils, wondering why they were still in the store.

The staff and customers alike looked at him in hope but so scared they didn't move, Ianto could see the injured person, a woman being held by two members of staff with s towel pressed to her neck and the three Weevils snarled and snapped from behind the doors they had somehow got themselves trapped behind.

“Out!” Jack shouted, waving his gun about dramatically and then spotting a police officer standing almost out of sight he turned his attention to her. “You, help with the injured woman.”

“Oh shit!” Ianto hissed to Jack as the female police officer came into view properly and he realised it was their neighbour, Gwen Cooper.

“Dammit!” Jack retorted. “we'll deal with her later, lets get this situation sorted out first.”

Gwen's eyes bored into them as she helped half carry the injured woman from the shop, she hadn't said a word to them but it was obvious from the look in her eyes that she would be asking more than enough questions later.

“Right,” Jack stated once they were alone in the shop. “lets get this over with.”

“I have just the thing,” Ianto said with a small smile, pulling a grey metal canister from one of his pockets.

“Perfect,” Jack agreed, taking the canister of knock out gas from his partner. “when I say now, unlock the door and open it a few inches.”

Ianto nodded and Jack pulled the pin, holding down the now released catch with his thumb and indicated to Ianto it was time to unlock the door. Ianto did as instructed and the second the canister was in the room with the Weevils he slammed it closed again and they waited for the gas to do it's job.

“We really need to get more staff,” Ianto sighed. “it's going to take the two of us forever to remove them from here.”

“Perhaps we should take on Gwen?” Jack suggested.

“You're kidding, right?” Ianto gasped.

“It would save retconning her, but no, you're right,” Jack conceded. “we should find out of she's up to the job first.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Ianto frowned.

“I have no idea yet,” Jack chuckled softly, as the last Weevil succumbed to the gas and dropped to the floor. “I'll think of something.”

“Great, now put it to the back of your mind and help me with the job in hand,” Ianto sighed.

“Yes Sir!” Jack laughed, giving him a mock salute and they cautiously opened the doors, relieved to find the gas now dispersed and got on with the removal of the Weevils.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

“She's following us, Gwen,” Ianto whispered to Jack as they walked across the Plass later towards the local pizza place. “she thinks she's keeping out of sight but I just caught her reflection in the water tower.”

“Yeah, do you think she saw us apparently appear out of nowhere?” Jack asked quietly back.

“No idea, should we acknowledge her or act like we haven't seen her?” Ianto asked the Captain.

“Are you really set against her becoming part of Torchwood?” Jack asked back.

“Yep, there's just something about her that spells trouble,” Ianto answered honestly. “even if she is a copper.”

“What if we gave her a forty eight hour trial, it goes badly we retcon her?” Jack suggested.

“Retcon doesn't always work Jack, what if it's ineffective with her or she finds a way to beat it?” Ianto questioned, opening the door of the pizza shop. “What if she tells Rhys?”

“Rhys seems like a level headed guy, perhaps we could hire also, or instead?” Jack replied laughing at the look on his lovers face as the young guy in the shop appeared from the back room to take their order.

“Usual?” He asked.

“Yep, one extra large meat feast please Mike,” Ianto confirmed.

“Do you want to wait or shall I have it delivered to the Tourist Office?” Mike asked, ringing up the price of the pizza on the till.

“Can you have it delivered please,” Ianto answered politely.

“It'll be about twenty minutes,” Mike nodded, accepting the payment for the pizza and handing back the change to Ianto.

“We'll be waiting,” Jack told him with a wide grin, taking Ianto's hand in his as they left and made their way back towards the water tower and the invisible lift.

“She's still watching,” Ianto observed, spotting Gwen peering around the edge of a building.

“Lets wait and see what her next move is,” Jack replied. “I get the feeling we'll be seeing her very soon.”

“She's not following,” Ianto frowned.

“No, I think she has other plans,” Jack replied as they stepped up onto the slab of the invisible lift and slowly began to sink beneath the Plass once Jack pressed the correct buttons on his wrist strap.

“What on earth?” Gwen exclaimed from her hiding place, she could have sworn she hadn't looked away but one minute the two men were in sight, walking across the Plass hand in hand and then the next they had vanished into this air.

Making a snap decision she headed into the Pizza shop and went straight to the counter, pulling out her police ID.

“Hi, I was wondering if you could help me,” Gwen smiled. “do you deliver to a Captain Jack Harkness, or maybe Ianto Jones?”

“I wouldn't know, mostly we're just given addresses,” Mike told her.

“Do you think you could check, on your computer?” Gwen asked him.

“Sure,” he told her turning his back on her to enter the names.

“Nope sorry, no hits on either of those names,” Mike confirmed.

“Okay, nevermind ... oh ... what about under the name of Torchwood?” Gwen asked with a sudden burst of inspiration.

“Oh yeah, we deliver pizza's to the Tourist Office all the time under that name,” Andy grinned.

“Here,” Gwen said, holding out a twenty pound note towards him. “for their pizza's.”

“They've already paid,” Mike replied, waving the money away.

“Then it's yours if you let me deliver it for you,” Gwen told him insistently.

“Sure,” Mike grinned, accepted the money and shoved it into his pocket.

Ten minutes or so later Gwen strode across the Plass towards the bay, pizza in her hands towards the Tourist Office, balancing it on one hand he opened the door and was a little startled to find both Jack and Ianto standing behind the desk covered in leaflets and guide books.

“Ms Cooper, so kind of you to deliver our pizza,” Ianto said, taking the box from her hands.

“I ... well ... so this really is a Tourist Office?” Gwen stuttered.

“It is,” Jack confirmed. “mostly.”

“Mostly?” Gwen asked, feeling a little confused. “I saw you earlier and I know you saw me, Special Ops my partner Andy said, Torchwood? What were they, those things in Marks and Sparks?”

“Are you always this nosey?” Jack asked her, folding his arms and looking her straight in the eye.

“It's my job, I'm a police officer,” Gwen stated.

“Then there's no point in us lying is there, you better come through,” Ianto told her with a grin, pressing the hidden button that opened the secret door.

“Follow me,” Jack told her, leading the way through the door with Ianto following them behind.

“Bloody hell!” Gwen exclaimed, turning around slowly to take in every inch of the main hub. “What is this?”

“Welcome to Torchwood,” Jack replied. “like what you see?”

Gwen just nodded, for once a little speechless, her hands flying up over her head as Myfanwy swooped down towards her screeching loudly.

“What the fuck is that!” Gwen exclaimed.

“Myfanwy, our pet, guard dog and resident Pterodactyl,” Ianto grinned. “she just curious.”

“Where the hell did you get a dinosaur?” Gwen gasped, wondering if she was dreaming or having some kind of hallucination.

“It fell through the rift,” Jack explained. “Cardiff is on a rift in time and space and things fall through it all the time, mostly just flotsam and jetsam but now and then aliens and the odd Pterodactyl.”

“You're fucking kidding me!” Gwen exclaimed.

“Nope,” Ianto told her with a wry smile at Jack.

“How would you like to see one of those creatures from M&S up close?” Jack asked her.

“You have one, here?” Gwen asked back.

“We did, now we have more thanks to today,” Jack replied with a small sigh. “follow me.”

The three of them headed down to the cells, Jack led the way along the cells until they reached the one that contained their longest resident.

“This is Janet,” Jack told her. “Janet, meet Gwen.”

Janet sniffed the air and then growled softly.

“We'll leave you to get acquainted,” Jack told her, reaching for a hard backed wooden chair and setting it in front of the cell.

Gwen sat down on it, not taking her eyes off Janet while Jack and Ianto left the cell block and headed back up to the main hub.

“We have to retcon her, back to before the incident at Marks and Sparks,” Ianto insisted. “I can't believe you even considered giving her a job, I can't see her fitting in here.”

“Forty eight hours Ianto, remember,” Jack answered. “no more.”

“Fine, fine,” Ianto grumbled softly, there was something about the woman he didn't trust, the look she got in her eyes when she was around Jack was at the top of his list. “coffee?”

“Yeah, it'll go great with the pizza,” Jack replied, suddenly remembering the pizza she had arrived with.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

“Oh it's so cute, does it have a name?” Gwen asked, spotting the creature in the cage the second Jack led her into his office.

“Spot,” Jack answered, watching the woman as she reached out tentatively with her fingers, not quite touching the cage.

“Spot?” Gwen asked. “but it doesn't have any spots of colour anywhere?”

“It's meant to be ironic,” Jack told her with a soft chuckle. “he won't hurt you.”

“Where did he come from?” Gwen asked, sliding one finger into the cage between the bars and stroking the creatures soft fur causing it to make a sound that wasn't far removed from the purr of a cat.

“Your loft, remember when you thought you had mice, or rats?” Jack responded.

“This was what was living in my loft?” Gwen gasped softly. “I had an alien in my loft?”

“Yeah, he'd quite made himself at home there too,” Jack grinned.

“If he's not dangerous why keep him in a cage?” Gwen frowned. “It seems rather cruel.”

“It's for his own good, our other pet might mistake him for lunch,” Jack laughed. “Myfanwy I mean of course, there are no others.”

“But you do take him out of the cage?” Gwen asked, concerned for the creatures well being.

“He's safe enough in here with the door closed,” Jack answered. “take a seat, I want to ask you something.”

“Gwen sat in the chair in front of the desk and waited quietly for Jack to take up his own position in the leather chair situated behind it.

“Well, what do you think?” Jack asked her.

“Think about what?” Gwen frowned.

“Torchwood, this place?” Jack replied.

“It's just amazing, I can't believe this is all under our feet when we walk across the Plass,” Gwen gushed. “it must be fantastic working here every day.”

“It's not all sitting around drinking coffee and eating pizza,” Jack retorted. “we have to deal with creatures like the Weevils and much worse on a daily basis, this is a dangerous job.”

“But so worth the risk,” Gwen said excitedly.

“If you worked here you couldn't tell a soul,” Jack continued seriously. “not even Rhys could know, nobody.”

“If I worked here?” Gwen squealed. “Are you offering me a job?”

“I'm offering you a forty eight hour trial,” Jack answered her. “after that time if you prove yourself to be competent then we will offer you a job, if not ... then you won't ever remember being here.”

“But ... how?” Gwen frown, feeling slightly worried at the Captains last statement.

“Retcon,” Jack replied. “a small white pill designed to take away memories, various doses to remove hours or even days of the memory.”

“What if I refuse to take it?” Gwen retorted.

“That won't be an option,” Jack assured her.

“Then I guess I'm going to have to prove myself,” Gwen told him with a toothy smile. “there's no way I'm going to fuck up the chance of working somewhere like this.”

“Then we need to get started, do you have any weapons training?” Jack asked her.

“No, I'm just a regular beat Officer, we are never armed,” Gwen told him.

“In this job it's a requirement, I need you to come with me to the armoury and firing range,” Jack said, getting to his feet. “some basic weapons training is needed before we can even consider taking you out in the field with us.”

“We?” Gwen asked, following him out of the office and down into the main hub.

“Ianto and I, I may be the boss but with just Ianto and I here, we both make any decisions concerning who we hire,” Jack explained. “it's been a while since there were more team members and we need to consider recruiting again.”

“What happened to the others?” Gwen asked, following him down into the depths of the hub to the armoury.”

“Killed in the line of duty,” Jack told her bluntly. “the average Torchwood employee doesn't get to see their thirtieth birthday, still want a job?”

Gwen swallowed hard. “Yes,”

“Good,” Jack nodded, watching her mouth gape open a little in awe at the array of weapons in the armoury and picked up one of the hand guns. “lets get on with this then, shall we?”

Gwen nodded and took the gun from his hand, loading it as instructed and then turning to face the target.

“Show me how you think you should use your weapon,” Jack told her and cringed as she took a typical movie stance, fired at the target and missed completely.

*~*~*

Ianto had been watching everything via the CCTV from his workstation, the more he saw of Gwen Cooper the more he was convinced that she wasn't right for the job but he would let her have her trial period without a fight.

When Jack and Gwen had left the office and headed off down to the armoury he left his workstation and hurried to the kitchenette to grab a fresh cup of coffee, then settled back down again on his chair and turned the CCTV image to that of the armoury and watched intently.

He couldn't help but chuckle to himself when Gwen made her first shot, facing the target head on, crouching down slightly by bending her knees a little and holding the weapon in both hands as she fired.

Ianto watched quietly sipping his coffee while Jack adjusted her stance, trying not to react to the way he moved her into position by placing her hands on her hips to turn her and then pressed himself against her back to hold her in the correct position while she fired her second, third and forth shots into the target, this time hitting it each time.

“That was so cool!” Gwen yelled over the speakers.

“Better,” Jack nodded. “but you'll need to improve a hell of a lot more before we let you loose in the city with a weapon of any kind.”

“I just need more practice,” Gwen gushed excitedly, reaching for more ammunition and reloading the gun.

Jack took the gun from her and laid it on the nearby table.

“Not today, it's been a long one and Ianto and I need to go home while we get the chance,” Jack told her. “I want you here first thing in the morning and I meant what I said about not telling anyone about us.”

“Just ten more minutes, please?” Gwen begged, putting her hand on the Captains arm and stroking it up and down slowly.

Ianto glared at the screen, the knuckles on the hand holding the mug going white as his grip tightened in anger, watching the scene unfolding before him.

“No, home,” Jack insisted, taking her hand off his arm and making to leave the firing range.

“Please, I'll do anything?” Gwen shot back, moving quickly so she was in front of him. “Anything?”

Ianto slammed the empty mug down on his workstation at the sight of Gwen's hand reaching for Jack's crotch while she tried to kiss him.

“You fucking little bitch,” Ianto seethed, a satisfied hiss escaping his lips when Jack shoved her backwards.

“Gwen, no!” Jack told her adamantly, warning her. “try that again and I'll retcon you back to infancy.”

“No-one will ever know,” Gwen smirked.

“Yes they would and I'm not losing Ianto over a quick fling with anyone, let alone you,” Jack retorted. “you and I are not an option, you understand?”

“Yes,” Gwen replied quietly.

“Good, now get home to Rhys and remember what a great bloke you have there,” Jack ordered.

Without another word Gwen scarpered from the firing range, averting her eyes from Ianto's gaze she left the hub quickly.

“I told you she wasn't right for this job, she just wants to be around you,” Ianto snapped when Jack appeared back in the main hub minutes later.

“Then she's out of luck because even if I wasn't with you I don't mess with people already in a relationship with another person,” Jack told him. “she's on her last warning, it all hangs on how she behaves tomorrow.”

“I'll get the retcon ready for tomorrow evening then,” Ianto huffed, striding across the hub to get his coat and leaving through the cog door with Jack chasing after him.

“Ianto wait!” Jack called out after him, grabbing his coat and not waiting to put it on before chasing his after his lover.

“I saw everything Jack, on the CCTV,” Ianto told him coldly.

“Then you know I rebuffed her advances,” Jack sighed, finally catching him up at the secret entrance to the Tourist Office. “you know I pushed her away, do you still not trust me, after all this time?”

“It's not you I don't trust,” Ianto told him honestly.

“Come on, lets go home and I'll help you remember one of the reasons you love me?” Jack smiled.

“You're going to make me an ice cream sundae?” Ianto said, letting his expression soften into a smile.

“If that's what you want?” Jack asked, locking the Tourist Office door behind them.

“Yep,” Ianto answered, winking at his lover.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

Ianto watched Gwen walking across the Plass arm in arm with Rhys via the CCTV and frowned, wondering just what she had told him her job was and called out to Jack who was fiddling with some alien artefact they had picked up a few days earlier off the beach nearby.  
"She's on her way,” he told him, still peering at the screen of the computer monitor and watching to see just how close she would get before sending her husband away.

"She'll do just fine, I'm sure,” Jack answered, placing the item down and moving to look at the screen, positioning himself behind his partner and sliding his arms around his waist.

"I wouldn't be so sure,” Ianto replied as they watched the two of them walk right up to the door of the fake Tourist Office.

"What on earth does she think she's doing?” Jack muttered to himself more than Ianto. “She shouldn't even be showing him the entrance!”

"We better get up there,” Ianto suggested. “but we'll have to go up via the invisible lift, we can't risk appearing through the secret door.”

"I'm beginning to think you may be right about her,” Jack admitted, hurrying across the Plass to the stone slab of the invisible lift with Ianto at his side.

Ianto didn't say a word, just raised an eyebrow and climbed up onto the slab beside the Captain, sliding an arm around his waist to support himself as he began to rise upwards.

"I know, I know,” Jack muttered, well aware of the the small, smug smile Ianto was trying to repress as they reached the top.

"I would say 'I told you so' but ...” Ianto began but found his words being swallowed by his lovers lips when they claimed his own and kissed him deeply.

"No need,” Jack sighed. 

"But then again, if it results in that response then I should maybe do it more often,” Ianto chuckled.

"You could try again later,” Jack laughed, jumping down off the slab and startling a flock of seagulls, causing them to flying off screeching loudly. “but for now we need to go and find out just what Rhys knows.”

When they arrived at the door of the fake Tourist Office they found Gwen and Rhys inside with Gwen frantically pressing the button that would open the secret doorway but nothing was happening.

"Why won't it open?” Gwen demanded the second they were through the door.

"Because I deadlocked it,” Ianto told her blandly.

"But I wanted to show Rhys around,” she pouted. “I told him I had a new job and he wanted to know all about it, so I thought it wouldn't hurt if he knew, he can keep a secret.”

"I told you to tell no-one Gwen,” Jack told her, trying to keep his anger in check. “Ianto, if you would be so good as to release the deadbolt?”

"Jack, you're not really considering what I think you are, are you?” Ianto asked him, pulling a small device from his pocket and placing it against the secret door.

"Do you trust me?” Jack asked him, pressing the button after the device made a small click and the door began to open causing Rhys to give a small gasp.

"Fuck me, it's true!” He exclaimed.

Ianto nodded. “Yep.”

"Good,” Jack told him with a wink. “come on then Rhys, you wanted to see if Gwen here was telling you the truth so follow me.”

Rhys followed Jack through the door, Gwen close behind them and Ianto bringing up the rear as the door began to close again, Ianto biting his tongue as he tried not to snap a sarcastic remark at Gwen.

"Here we are,” Jack told Rhys, spreading his arms wide. “have a good look around and no scaring Myfanwy, she might mistake you for lunch.”

Rhys' eyes darted upwards, looking out for the Pterodactyl his wife had told him about, scanning the high ceiling in part anticipation and part fear at seeing the said prehistoric creature and a little disappointed when she failed to make an appearance.

"Ianto, how about a nice cup of coffee all round, the really special one that we keep for occasions just like this?” Jack suggested, knowing Ianto would get his meaning. “Nice and strong ones.”

"Sounds good to me, mild and sugar Rhys? Gwen?” Ianto asked them.

They replied with their preferences and Ianto headed straight off to the small kitchenette, turning on the coffee machine and placing the mugs on the counter, then unlocking the small drawer beneath and pulled out the container containing an amount of small white pills in a segmented box.

He plucked out two pills from the one that indicated forty eight hours memory loss, returned the container back to the drawer and locked it again, placing them carefully on the counter top next to the mugs while he prepared the coffee. 

Finally, after adding the required milk and sugar Ianto dropped one pill into each of two of the mugs and stirred them thoroughly, then placing all four onto a tray with a plate of biscuits he carried them back through the main hub where he found them all in the conference room.

He handed out the correct coffee's to Rhys and Gwen and then set Jack's before him and then took a seat beside his lover and waited for Jack to speak while the other couple took a sip of their coffee's.

"Wow, Gwen said you made good coffee but this is bloody marvellous!” Rhys exclaimed. “It would be worth working here just for the coffee.”

"Then it's a shame Gwen won't be working here at all,” Jack told him.

"What?” Gwen gasped out. “You said I had a forty eight hour trial period, I've only been here and hour and I haven't done anything?”

"Lets start at the beginning shall we?” Jack asked her. “When I told you that you weren't to tell anyone about where you were working, not even your husband, which bit of that didn't you understand?”

"But I couldn't see how it would matter, I mean, I told you that Rhys could keep a secret,” Gwen retorted.

"Maybe he can, that's irrelevant,” Jack snapped back. “because you obviously can't and they makes my offer null and void.”

"No, no,” Gwen argued back . “I'm sorry, it just slipped out, it won't happen again, I promise!”

"If it can slip out once, and believe me I can understand your excitement and the urge to tell some one,” Jack replied. “then the chances are it'll happen again, and next time it could be someone we really don't want to know, as they used to say during the war 'Loose talk costs lives'.”

"That's a bit over dramatic isn't it?” Rhys put in, draining his coffee cup.

"Not in this job,” Ianto told him. “there is a reason this is a secret organisation, we are a threat to a lot of aliens who don't take kindly to us.”

"So how come we never see these aliens?” Rhys asked, reaching for a biscuit.

"Because we intercept them before they become a danger,” Jack told him.

"Most of the time,” Ianto added a little wryly.

"Well, yes but that's beside the point,” Jack conceded. “the point is that Gwen has blown her chances of working here and as far as you are both concerned you've never been to this place.”

"Of course we have,” Rhys replied, glancing at his wife who was giving his a strange look.

"No, you haven't,” Ianto smiled. “your coffee contained a little extra something called Retcon, by tomorrow morning you won't remember any of the last two days and Gwen you will still be a member of the Cardiff Police Force.”

"But I gave in my notice, how will that be explained?” She smiled smugly.

"That'll all be sorted,” Ianto told her. “believe me, that's simple to rectify.”

"Now, I suggest you both go home, very soon you are going to feel very sleepy and you don't want to fall asleep in the street, so you?” Jack asked them and then continued. “I shall call a taxi to pick you up from the Plass in about ten minutes, Ianto if you would be so kind as to show our guests back out I'll get onto the taxi firm.”

"Of course,” Ianto replied, getting to his feet. “okay you two, follow me.”

"You won't get away with this,” Gwen fumed as they followed him back the way they had come.

"We already have,” Ianto told her smugly, letting them out the door of the fake Tourist Office and after telling them where to wait for the taxi he locked it firmly behind them and then hurried back to where Jack was watching them on the computer monitor.

"There's the taxi,” Jack said, pointing to the car that pulled up near the waiting couple, who already looked like they were getting drowsy. “that's that dealt with.”

"If you had listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't have had to go through this,” Ianto told him, sliding a hand over his lovers arse.

"You're not telling me 'I told you so again' are you?” Jack replied, turning to face his lover.

"I might me, what are you going to do about it?” Ianto grinned.

By way of reply Jack tugged him close by the hips and kissed him deeply just as the rift predictors alarms went off.

"Damn it!” Jack grumbled, pulling back.

"That thing always did have bad timing,” Ianto sighed.

"This is why we really do need more team members,” Jack replied. “do you think we'll have more luck with Toshiko and Owen?”

"Definitely,” Ianto nodded, reluctantly pulling out of his lovers arms and moving to reach for the Captains coat. “but for the moment we have a Weevil to round up.”

"Weevil hunting it is then,” Jack answered, donning his coat with his lovers help. “but then we look into ways to get them to agree to work for us.”

"Agreed,” Ianto replied, checking his own coat pocket for Weevil spray and following Jack towards cog door. 

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

"Doctor, I think you are right about that Institute place,” Rose told him, holding up the morning paper so he could see the headline splashed across the front page.

"The Phillips Institute win the war on obesity,” the Doctor read out loud, then took a large bite of his toast while speed reading the full page article. “hmm, there's no way this drug could have been manufactured using Earth's resources in this century, there has to be alien intervention.”

"A day investigating then?” Rose asked, smiling widely at him.

The Doctor nodded. “we need to check it out and close it down.”

"Psychic paper at the ready?” Rose asked grinned, then downing the last of her cup of tea while brushing the toast crumbs off her clothes with her hand.

"Yep, today I shall be from some obscure health department and you will be my lovey assistant,” the Doctor answered.

"Why can't you be the lovely assistant for once?” Rose pouted playfully.

"Because I'm brilliant,” the Doctor exclaimed, checking his pockets for both the psychic paper and his sonic screwdriver and finding them easily. “okay, lets go.”

"Car?” Rose asked.

"TARDIS,” he grinned.

*~*~*

Ianto opened the front door and picked the morning newspaper off the step, pausing for a moment, his brow furrowed at the strange sound that filled the air for a few second and then stopped again.

"I heard that weird sound again,” Ianto called out, closing the front door and unfolding the paper, the sound forgotten the moment he saw the headline.

"It must be some kind of new aircraft,” Jack called back.

"Hmm, Jack, I think they might have some alien technology at that place Owen and Toshiko work,” Ianto said, handing his lover the paper.

"The Phillips Institute,” Jack murmured as he read the article. “I knew there was something going on at that place, we should check it out.”

"Are you going to play the Torchwood card?” Ianto asked, slipping on his shoes and lacing them.

"No, not at first, we should just try and work our way in via our neighbours,” Jack answered. “I'm sure Toshiko would make time for us, especially you.”

"Me?” Ianto asked with genuine surprise.

"Yeah,” Jack grinned. “I think she's taken a real shine to you, as a friend.”

"Really? Okay, lets go and pay her a friendly visit then,” Ianto smiled happily.

"And while you charm the lovely lady I shall see what I can find out,” Jack told him.

"You're going to get us thrown out again, aren't you?” Ianto grinned, reaching for his jacket.

"Would I?” Jack grinned back, trying to look innocent.

"Yep!” Ianto answered simply, letting Jack lead the way out to the car.

*~*~*

"Oh fuck, my head,” Gwen grumbled, getting slowly out of bed and heading for the bathroom to rummage around in the cabinet for painkillers.

"I hope you're searching for the aspirin?” Rhys asked, following her and clutching his forehead.

Gwen pulled the plastic pot from the cabinet, she would have given some kind of comment of glee but her head was pounding way to much and after giving it a shake to check there were pills within the pot she popped the lid open following the reassuring rattle.

"Here,” she said, handing Rhys two of the little white tablets and then helped herself to two more, popping the cap back on and then both of them made their way to the kitchen to get water to help take them.

"Coffee?” Gwen asked, after downing two glasses of water in quick succession.

"Bucket loads,” Rhys answered, sinking down onto one of the kitchen chairs. “how much exactly did we down last night?”

"Too much, I can't remember a damn thing,” Gwen told him, shaking her head and regretting it instantly when it felt like her brain was wobbling around inside her skull.

"Man, I'm never drinking again,” Rhys groaned.

"There's no way I can work like this,” Gwen muttered, pouring boiling water onto the instant coffee granules. “I'm going to have to call in sick , say I have caught a bug or something.”

"Yeah, we've both gone down with it,” Rhys agreed. “they can cope for one day without me.”

"Coffee and then back to bed?” Gwen suggested, thinking she needed to sleep it off longer.

"Cracking idea love,” Rhys smiled, then winced when the action caused a pain to shoot through his brain. “I really am never drinking again!”

"So you said, but you always do,” Gwen replied, handing him his mug of coffee as she took a seat beside him.

"This time I mean it,” Rhys told her, taking a sip of the hot coffee.

"Sure,” Gwen snarked softly.

*~*~*

"Oh shit, someone's leaked to the papers,” Owen exclaimed, scanning the front page of the newspaper.

"It was close to being revealed soon, surely it doesn't matter that much?” Toshiko asked.

"No-one is prepared, I've heard through the grapevine that they need to keep certain elements of this top secret,” Owen answered. “things that only the top brass and the scientist in charge are privy too.”

"You still have no idea what this secret ingredient is, the one that makes it work?” Toshiko asked.

"Not a fucking sausage,” Owen admitted. “whoever leaked this obviously doesn't either, but I guess they are trying to press the issue, judging by this article.”

"Why, what exactly does it say?” Toshiko replied.

"It's more what it doesn't,” Owen remarked. “I guess we should prepare ourself for a day of fending off the press.”

"Fantastic!” Toshiko grumbled sarcastically, finishing her cereal. 

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

"Good morning, how may I help?” The young woman at the reception desk in the foyer of The Phillips Institute asked as the two men approached asked with a smile.

"Good morning, we're friends of Toshiko Sato, we were hoping for a quick word with her?” Jack answered in response.

"Names?” She asked with a smile, lifting up the receiver of the telephone on her desk.

"Jack Harkness, Captain and Ianto Jones,” Jack told her.

She dialled a three digit number, waited for a moment or two and then spoke.

"Ms Sato, I have two gentlemen here to see you,” she said. “a Captain Harkness and a Mr Jones.”

"Yes, of course,” she finished and replaced the telephone receiver.

"She has ten minutes she can spare you,” the woman told them, opening a drawer and pulling out two visitor passes, holding them back for a second and asking. “you're not press are you?”

"No,” Ianto told her with a grin. “we're neighbours of hers, we were rather surprised that there wasn't more press outside considering the revelation in the papers this morning?”

"They've been rounded up and taken into one of the conference rooms with a promise of an official press release,” she answered, passing them each a visitor pass. “are there more out there now?”

"Only two,” Jack assured her.

"Thanks, I'll send Harry – the security guard – out to fetch them,” she said with a small sigh. “now if you take the lift at the end of the hall and go up to the forth floor you'll find Ms Sato's office three doors along to your left.”

They both thanked her and followed her directions, each of them taking note of any visible CCTV cameras on the ground floor and in the hallway they found themselves in when they exited the lift.

"There are security cameras everywhere,” Ianto noted.

"Yeah,” Jack nodded. “so, we're agreed? We get Toshiko talking and then I make the excuse of needing to use the bathroom?”

"Yep,” Ianto answered, coming to a stop outside the door bearing Toshiko's name plate. “and then you go off snooping.”

"Exactly,” Jack replied, knocking on the door with his knuckles and opening it when her voice invited them in.

"Jack, Ianto,” she said with genuine pleasure at seeing them. “what brings you here?”

"We were just passing and we thought we'd drop in and invite you and Owen to dinner,” Ianto replied. “we've barely seen you since the house warming party and we thought it would be good to get together again.”

"That sounds good to me,” Toshiko answered. “we're free most evenings, just name the day and time.”

"You don't need to check with Owen?” Jack asked, making a showing of fidgeting on his feet.

"No, he'll be fine about it,” Toshiko replied. “are you okay?”

"I need to pee,” Jack told her, acting a little embarrassed. “is there a toilet I could use?”

"You should have said,” Toshiko smiled. “down the hall to the right, the way you came, past the lift and you'll find the toilets at the end of the hallway.”

"Thanks,” Jack told her and made a dramatic exit from the room, running down the hallway towards the Gents just in case he was spotted and had to explain why he was in the hallway.

*~*~*

"You know, this would be a whole lot easier if we went in the front way Doctor,” Rose hissed under her breath as the Doctor held his sonic screwdriver on a lock at the rear of the building. “it's not like we don't know anyone here, we could use Toshiko or Owen as an excuse to get into the building.”

"Where's the fun in that?” The Doctor grinned her, the tell tale sound of the lock springing open at that moment. “See, we're in.”

"We'll be spotted, they're bound to have CCTV,” Rose added.

"Not for long,” the Doctor replied, holding up the sonic screwdriver and aiming it at a camera mounted on the wall, it's light going off.

After recalibrating the screwdriver he once again aimed it at the camera and the light came on again.

"As far as they are concerned there is no-one strange on the building,” the Doctor explained. “I've put the last hour of recording on a loop for the whole system, have I ever told you that I'm brilliant?”

"Constantly,” Rose laughed, shaking her head from side to side.

"Right, lets go and see what we can find,” the Doctor said, running off down the long corridor, Rose chasing after him grinning at the thrill of the chase to come and skidding to a halt behind him at a map of the building beside the lift.

"I'd take a guess that we need to go down to the lower levels,” the Doctor stated, pointing at the map and indicating the two floors below floor level. “if anything dodgy is going on here, that's where they'll be keeping them hidden.”

"You're positive this new diet pill has alien origins?” Rose asked, following the Doctor into the lift.

"Yep, one hundred percent, ninety nine … okay, at least ninety,” the Doctor told her with a sheepish grin. “but it's better to be safe than sorry, yes?”

"Most definitely,” Rose agreed. “Eh, Doctor, there's no buttons for the lower ground floor?”

"I wouldn't say that,” the Doctor said, breaking into another grin and holding out the sonic screwdriver, moments later two red buttons seeming came into view as if from nowhere. “a kind of perception filter, and I do like to find red buttons to press!

"Then I shall let you have the honour,” Rose giggled, letting the Doctor press the button for the lowest level. 

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

Jack came out of the Gents after a few minutes and headed towards the door marked with the symbol that indicated a stairwell, he checked the door and found it open, closing it quietly he ran down the four flights of stairs to ground level and smiled a small smile of satisfaction when he discovered the stairs kept going downwards.

Jack kept running downwards until he reached the very bottom, testing the door he found it locked. Reaching into the pocket of his coat he pulled out a small device and attached it to the door, after pressing a few buttons the device emitted a low pitched sound followed by the one of the lock clicking open.

Slipping the device back in his pocket Jack opened the door barely an inch and peered though, seeing that it just led into an empty corridor he quickly pushed through the door, closing it behind him and wondered which way down the corridor he should head first.

Hearing the sound of footsteps coming from the right Jack headed off left, walking at some speed down the corridor and into a recess so he was hidden out of sight and peered around the corner, more than a little surprised when he saw John Smith and Rose Tyler heading his way.

Jack pressed himself against the wall and listened to their conversation as they walked along the corridor and past him.

"There's nothing but storage rooms down here Doctor, we should go up to the next level,” Rose suggested.

"No, whatever they're hiding is down here somewhere, I just know it is,” the Doctor replied.

"Don't tell me, you can feel it in your water,” Rose chuckled.

"Water? I don't have any water?” The Doctor answered, clearly confused.

"Forget it,”Rose grinned, neither of them noticing the man they passed.

"Okay!” The Doctor agreed readily. “Right, this door looks promising.”

"It looks much the same as the other four doors we've tried and found nothing but boxes of office supplies,” Rose grumbled.

"It might look like that,” the Doctor answered. “but according to my sonic screwdriver this is just a façade, the actual door is made of metal and about four inches thick.”

"And locked,” Rose added, spotting the small control panel set close to the door frame.

"Not for long,” the Doctor assured her, adjusting the sonic screwdriver and then pointing it at the panel.

Jack watched from his hiding place, knowing that whatever this man was using on the doors lock wasn't any kind of technology he'd encountered before and when the door began to slowly move open and the two walked through it he ran down towards it, sliding in before he closed again behind him.

"Jack?” Rose asked in confusion when the Captain almost bumped into her.

"Captain?” The Doctor added.

"Are you following us?” Rose asked before he could say anything.

"No, I was here first,” Jack replied adamantly.

"No, I believe we opened the door,” the Doctor retorted.

"I meant, I was in the building first,” Jack sighed.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that,” the Rose replied. “if you had then you'd have security all over your arse, the Doctor disabled it.”

"Not exactly, I put it on a loop,” the Doctor said a little smugly.

"None of this is really the issue,” Jack said. “what exactly are you doing here?”

"And what's it to do with you?” Rose asked him.

"I'm Torchwood, I'm here looking for … well, something out of the ordinary.” Jack told them.

"Torchwood? Bloody Torchwood?” Rose grumbled.

"Now Rose, they do their best,” the Doctor said, seeing the look on the Captains face. “and as for something out of the ordinary, I'd say you've already found it.”

"Where?” Jack asked, scanning the small, empty white room.

"Him,” Rose laughed, pointing at the Doctor.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly, I'm the Doctor, Time Lord, last of,” he said proudly.

"No way, the Time Lords died out,” Jack stated. “they're extinct.”

"Um, last of,” the Doctor countered. “I escaped the Time War.”

"Okay, lets say that I believe you, why the hell are you living on Earth?” Jack asked.

"I don't, well, not exactly,” he grinned. “I have a house here but I don't actually spend much time on the planet, even though it looks like it to the neighbours.”

"Thanks to the TARDIS,” Rose added with a smile.

"TARDIS?” Jack asked.

"His time machine,” Rose laughed.

"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space,” the Doctor explained. “TARDIS, it travels in time and space.”

"So, anyway, shouldn't we keep looking, for whatever it is we're looking for?” Rose asked.

"Maybe you should leave this to us Captain, we wouldn't want you shooting first and asking questions later now, would we?” The Doctor said.

"Contrary to belief Torchwood doesn't exist to kill aliens, most get sent away from the planet,” Jack argued.

"Why not just work together?” Rose suggested. “Is Ianto here?”

"He's with Toshiko,” Jack replied, eyeing the Doctor to see what he thought of Rose's suggestion.

"I guess we can try,” the Doctor said, fiddling with the sonic screwdriver.

"What is that?” Jack asked curiously.

"Sonic screwdriver,” the Doctor told him.

"Of all the things you could have sonic, you choose a screwdriver?” Jack chuckled.

"Hey, it has it's uses,” the Doctor huffed.

"Ummm, job in hand?” Rose interrupted.

"Yes, okay, lets go and find another room,” Jack suggested.

"We've found it,” the Doctor grinned, pointing the sonic screwdriver at the back wall and pressed the button, looking smug as it vanished before them to show another room hidden behind.

All of them let out a small gasp at the sight before them.

TBC


	24. Chapter 24

Approximately three feet past the area where the wall had vanished from there was a glass wall that spanned the full width of the room and behind that was a sight that none of them had ever experienced before.

The creature was of humanoid like appearance but at a guess at least seven feet tall, it had huge almond shaped eyes which were deep green, a nose not unlike their own but it's mouth was almost lipless.

But it was stick thin, so thin that to anyone who couldn't see what else was in the room would think it malnourished, being starved for whatever horrific reason their brains could come up with.

But the alien wasn't being neglected in any sense of the word, the room was equipped with all the amenities that a human would expect if kept in isolation and was currently ignoring them from the large sofa it was sat on and watching the huge flat screen TV that adorned one wall while shovelling biscuits into it's mouth.

Also in the room was a table piled high with every kind of biscuits, sweets, chocolate and crisps you could think of and more and beside it was a huge fridge which they could only assume held more food and possibly drinks as the alien was sipping from a can of cola.

"I'm lost for words!” The Doctor said, speaking first and breaking the silence that had fallen.

"That's a first,” Rose chuckled. “what the hell is it?”

"I've never seen the species before in my life,” Jack replied, lifting his hand and placing it against the glass wall.

"Me neither,” the Doctor replied. “and that's not something I say often, but I think we've found the creature responsible for the new drug.”

"That's a given,” Rose nodded, smiling at the creature when it finally turned to look at them as if noticing that they were there for the first time.

"It doesn't look dangerous,” Jack said, watching it get up from the sofa, confirming it's full height and walk slowly towards them.

"It's head barely clears the ceiling,” Rose noted.

"Who are you?” Jack asked carefully, trying to to appear threatening and scare the alien.

"Klanrk,” came the reply.

"It's in my head, it spoke to me in my head!” Rose exclaimed.

"It's telepathic,” the Doctor confirmed.

"But it can hear us talk?” She asked and the Doctor and Jack both nodded in agreement.

"Where are you from?” Jack asked it.

"Far away … so far away … I don't know how I got here,” it told them.

"I think you fell through the rift,” Jack replied. “a rip in time and space and ended up here.”

"You know about the rift?” The Doctor asked the Captain.

"Sure, that's the reason Torchwood is here in Cardiff,” Jack replied. “we monitor it and keep sightings of aliens to a minimum.”

"By killing them!” The Doctor huffed.

"Not that again, we do not ...” Jack began to argue back but Rose cut them off.

"Stop, it!” She snapped at them. “You can discuss this later, we have more important things to sort out now!”

"Yes, right. Yes,” the Doctor replied, suitable admonished.

"Captain?” Rose asked.

"Yeah, you're right,” Jack conceded.

"Klanrk, have you been hurt, mistreated?” The doctor asked the alien.

"No,” it replied, filling their heads with it's reply. “I have been given more than I could ever require to live.”

"Are they feeding you other foods?” Rose asked, concerned for the creatures health.

"Yes, what you call meat and vegetables,” Klanrk told them.

"They've used you for tests though?” Jack asked it.

Klanrk nodded it's head but didn't look at all upset.

"They didn't not hurt me, they made me sleep,” the alien replied. “and I heal fast, I do not feel what you call pain.”

"Did they tell you why they were doing this?” Rose asked.

"To help people on your world,” Klanrk answered.

"You didn't try and fight back, refuse?” The Doctor asked, pulling a pair of glasses from his pocket and peering closer at the creature through the glass wall.

"Why would I?” It asked. “They treat me well and I have no way of getting home.”

"But you're a prisoner?” Rose responded.

"I cannot go out into your world, I need to stay hidden,” Klanrk told them. “if I could get home it would be another matter, but this is my life now.”

"What is the name of your planet?” The Doctor asked it.

"It's called Llondellel,” Klanrk answered. “it's on the far reaches of the galaxy.”

"I could take you home,” the Doctor told it.

"No-one can do that!” Klanrk stated.

"It's not a hollow promise,” Rose told the creature reassuringly. “if we can get you out of here, we can take you home.”

"You would do that for me?” Klanrk asked, his amazement clear in his voice.

"Yes,” the Doctor told him. “it would be no trouble.”

"Then we should get to work on finding a way to free you from this place,” the Doctor told the creature with a smile. “we will be back, I promise.”

"Thank you,” Klanrk said and then went back to watching the TV.

"You can really take it home?” Jack asked, walking with the Doctor and Rose towards the door they had entered through.

"Yes, the TARDIS will locate the planet, it's as simple as that,” the Doctor replied.

"Okay,” Jack said nodding. “just one more question, how did we understand what it was saying, it was speaking English?”

"No, it wasn't, the TARDIS was translating for us,” Rose said with a wide grin.

"I really need to see this TARDIS!” Jack exclaimed.

"I think she'll like you,” Rose told him.

"She?” Jack asked while the Doctor unlocked the door again to let them out.

"Oh most definitely,” the Doctor chuckled and pulled open the door and found himself face to face with the barrel of three rifles.

TBC


	25. Chapter 25

“What's wrong?” Ianto asked Toshiko innocently when a loud alarm went off throughout the building.

“That's the intruder alarm, someone without clearance has breached the lower levels,” she explained, reaching for the phone on her desk when it's ring joined in with the noise surrounding them.

“Yes Sir,” she replied, giving Ianto a strange look. “of course Sir,”

With that she put the phone down and looked directly into the young man's eyes.

“Why would Captain Harkness be in the lower levels of the building with Rose Tyler and Doctor John Smith?” She asked him directly.

“I wouldn't have any idea,” Ianto replied, somewhat honestly as he really had no idea why the other two neighbours would be in the building also.

“Oh come on Ianto, it's obvious that you were left here to distract me while Jack went off to … break into a secure room,” Toshiko replied. “did he arrange to meet the other two here and let them in, hoping they would remain undetected?”

“Honestly, I have no idea why Rose and the Doctor are her,” Ianto shrugged. “we haven't seen them in ages.”

“But that still doesn't explain why Jack isn't in the Gents and in one of the secure rooms downstairs?” Toshiko pushed.

“Why would you need secure rooms in a research facility?” Ianto answered her question with his own.

“We use small animals sometimes for testing, like most pharmaceutical companies,” Toshiko explained. “and we attract animal rights activists in the same way, so we do our best to keep the area's secure.”

“Are you sure that's all down there?” Ianto pushed.

“Of course, what are you implying?” Toshiko retorted.

“I think you have something alien locked away down there, something that's being used in the manufacture of these new diet pills,” Ianto replied, coming straight to the point.

“Aliens? Are you insane?” Toshiko scoffed and Ianto could tell from her face she was answering honestly.

“No, Torchwood,” Ianto told her, pulling out his ID and handing it to her.

“Torchwood?” Toshiko asked, a little in awe of the name, something she had heard of but was never really sure what they did, despite all the rumours. “The rumours are true then? About aliens in Cardiff?”

“Very and if you're holding an alien against it's will and experimenting on it then we will take it into custody,” Ianto informed her, getting up from the chair he'd been sitting in. “I need to get to Jack.”

“That could be a little difficult,” Toshiko told him. “I've been told to keep you busy until they have the other three in custody and then they'll come for you.”

“Then why are you telling me?” Ianto asked, a little confused at her admission.

“Because if this is true then I want to help you,” Toshiko replied with a gleam in her eye. “come on, follow me.”

Toshiko beckoned him to follow her to the back of her office, reaching the wall she pressed her fingertips to the wall and pushed, there was a small sound like a hum and then a panel slid sidewards revealing a hidden passageway.

“Is this normal?” Ianto asked, following her inside.

“Yeah, all the offices are built around a central block which is hidden from the public eye, it can be sealed completely against bomb or chemical attack,” Toshiko replied, leading him down the corridor which was lit by small lights that appeared to be activated by movement, past numerous doors on on one side and small indications of the secret doors on the other.

“Where are we going?” Ianto asked her.

“To help the others escape,” Toshiko grinned. “but first we need to make a small detour.”

With this she led him to one of the secret doors and knocked on it gently, a few moments later the panel slid open and Ianto found himself face to face with Owen Harper.

“Tosh? Ianto? What's going on?” Owen asked over the sirens.

“It appears we're harbouring an alien in the lower levels and using it to manufacture this new diet drug,” Toshiko told him, seeing the look of disbelief on his face she continued. “I'm not kidding, Ianto and Jack both work for Torchwood.”

“Bloody Torchwood!” Owen exclaimed, giving Ianto the response he was most used to when the name was mentioned. “It still doesn't mean that aliens exist.”

“Think about it, a drug that help you lose weight no matter how much you eat?” Toshiko replied. “it all makes so much more sense now.”

“I won't believe it until I see it for myself,” Owen snarked. “come on then, show me the little alien.”

“Believe me Owen, you're in for a surprise,” Ianto grinned at him.

“Fine,” Owen grumbled, moving out into the hidden corridor and following them.

“I heard that three people had been captured down in the lower levels, is this true?” Owen asked as they walked.

“Yes, Jack, Rose and the Doctor,” Toshiko answered.

“So Rose and the Doctor work for Torchwood too?” Owen asked Ianto.

“Nope, I have no idea what they're doing down there,” Ianto replied, following Toshiko down a flight of concrete steps with Owen close behind. “no idea at all.”

“That's weird,” Owen conceded. “I can't wait to find out why there are here, aliens or not.”

“Yep, me too,” Ianto admitted.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs Toshiko motioned them both the be quiet and peered around the corner of the stairwell and spotted the armed man standing guard outside.

“One guard, but armed,” she whispered to them. “it's Frank I think.”

“Then we need someone to distract him,” Ianto suggested. “do you think you can do that Toshiko?”

“I'm not really his type,” Toshiko said quietly, trying not to giggle at the look Owen was giving her.

“Oh no, no way!” Owen hissed quietly.

“Are you armed?” Ianto asked him, pulling his stun gun from where it was concealed beneath his jacket.

“What the hell is that?” Owen asked.

“A stun gun, all I need is for him to be distracted long enough for me to come up behind him and knock him out,” Ianto explained. “surely you can drop the macho act for a minute or two?”

“Oh for God's sake,” Owen grumbled. “what do you want me to do?”

“Just flirt with him a little, distract him,” Toshiko giggled.

“Two minutes, yes?” Owen asked obviously not happy at the idea.

“I promise,” Ianto replied, trying not to laugh at the look on the other man's face.

“Lets just say that if he attempts to stick his tongue down my throat you won't be needing a stun gun to knock him out,” Owen retorted, checked that his white coat was buttoned up completely and then walked towards the guard while the other two hid out of sight. 

TBC


	26. Chapter 26

Owen walked towards the guard in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner, doing his best not to appear nervous.

“Who's there?” Frank demanded, turning around and readying his weapon at the sound of the footsteps behind him.

“It's just me,” Owen said, raising his hands in jest and smiling at the guard.

“Doctor Harper, what brings you down here?” Frank asked, lowering his weapon.

“I heard there was something going on down here, that the alarms were set off by intruders,” Owen explained. “I thought I'd come down and have a look for myself.”

“Yeah, no idea what they thought they'd find,” Frank shrugged. “they were caught in one of the storage rooms, or so I was told, nobody tells me anything and I just get left here to guard them.”

“You don't know who they are then?” Owen asked, moving just that little bit into the guards personal space.

“I heard someone mention Torchwood but I never actually saw them myself,” Frank answered. “the only other bit of information I caught was that one of them was wearing a military coat, RAF they thought.”

“There can't be many people around Cardiff who wear something like that?” Owen pondered out loud knowing that as far as he knew Jack Harkness was the only one.

“I wouldn't have thought so, although I'd hardly call it the style of attire worn by a straight man,” Frank said, staring Owen straight in the eye. “how about you?”

“It's not something I've ever really thought about,” Owen replied truthfully, still pondering on the idea that his neighbour could be working for Torchwood.

“So, Doctor Harper, is there anything else I could help you with?” Frank asked.

Owen moved slightly, spotting Toshiko out the corner of his eye signaling him to get Frank to turn his back on them completely.

“You know, I was wondering,” Owen replied, stepping closer to the other man, barely inches away he continued. “if you fancied coming for a drink tonight, we me that is?”

“Are you asking me out Sir?” Frank asked, his face conveying his pleasure with a hint of surprise. “I thought you and Ms Sato were happily married?”

“I thought we could just have a drink and go from there,” Owen answered, his eyes pleading across Frank's shoulder for them to get on with it before he found himself being snogged by the other guy and almost sighed out loud with relief when Ianto began to walk towards them with the stun gun at the ready. “Toshiko doesn't need to know.”

“That sounds great,” Frank smiled, reaching out with his hand and placing it firmly on Owen's arse, a second later he gave a small groan of pain as the stun guns charge hit him in the back of the neck and he dropped to the floor.

“Never, ever ask me to do anything like that again!” Owen exclaimed to a giggling Toshiko.

“I thought he was going to kiss you, just before Ianto stunned him,” Toshiko admitted, a little more excitedly that she'd intended.

“Oh really?” Owen smirked. “That thought turn you on did it?”

“It might have done, just a little,” Toshiko admitted to her husband. “but I'm quite capable of using my imagination.”

“I think we might just have to talk about this some more later,” Owen chuckled.

Ianto coughed politely. “I think we have a rather more pressing matter on our hands at the moment, how about you?”

“Yes, you're right,” Owen conceded, patting Frank's pockets and after locating the keys he handed them to Ianto. “after you.”

Ianto slid the key into the lock and turned it, pushed down the handle and opened the door finding the three prisoners handcuffed to metal chairs which appeared to be anchored to the floor.

“Ianto!” Jack said brightly, grinning widely at him. “I knew you'd come and rescue us.”

“You have Toshiko to thank for that,” Ianto told him, locating the keys for the handcuffs on the guards keyring. “she could have turned me in but wanted to help.”

“Hey, don't forget about me,” Owen grumbled. “I put myself on a platter for Frank to help you get into this room.”

“That's true,” Ianto admitted, opening the final pair of handcuffs that were securing the Doctor to his seat. “so, why are you two here?”

“We can talk about that later,” Jack said, giving Ianto and quick hug. “we need to get out of here and work out a way to free Klanrk, get it home to it's planet.”

“Klanrk?” Ianto, Toshiko and Owen all asked together.

“The alien that's being used to create the diet pills,” Rose explained. “it's unharmed but is being kept a prisoner against it's will, the Doctor can take it home.”

“Then we need to get moving before Frank wakes up and gives the alarm,” Owen suggested.

“Stun gun?” Jack asked as they passed the unconscious man.

“Yep, easy once Owen distracted him for me.” Ianto replied as they ran down the corridor after the Doctor who insisted he knew the best way out.

“Don't remind me,” Owen snarked.

“I guess we're out of jobs too now,” Toshiko sighed.

“That's something else we can discuss later too,” Jack told her with a grin, following the Doctor out of the building and towards a blue police box.

“What the hell is that doing here?” Owen frowned.

“It's mine,” the Doctor grinned, opened the door and gestured at them. “coming?”

“Our car is parked out the front,” Ianto stated.

“If I can guess correctly there's not much chance of them leaving it unguarded for you to escape in,” the Doctor replied. “we can collect he later.”

“I guess you're right,” Ianto answered.

“Everybody in then,” the Doctor ordered and they filed in before him.

“Bloody hell!” Owen exclaimed.

“This is amazing, you have to tell me how it works?” Toshiko asked, gazing around in wonderment.

“Some kind of alien technology,” Ianto said, nodding to himself.

“It's bigger on the inside!” Jack exclaimed.

“Now that's the one I was waiting for,” the Doctor grinned, pulling a handle on the central console and the strange sound that Ianto kept hearing filled the air.

“It's this, this is what I've been hearing recently,” Ianto gasped.

“It's not exactly stealthy,” Rose laughed.

“We're moving?” Owen asked.

“Yeah, home here we come,” the Doctor told them still grinning wide

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

“Bloody hell, it's not exactly a smooth ride, is it?” Owen grumbled as they exited the TARDIS to find themselves in the back garden of the house that belonged to the Doctor and Rose.

“She's designed to have six pilots,” Rose explained. “but the Doctor here is a little protective and won't teach even me how to drive her.”

“You have to tell me how it works,” Toshiko said excitedly and not for the first time. “I can keep a secret.”

“I'm sorry Toshiko, Time Lord technology isn't something I can go around telling anyone,” the Doctor answered. “but I promise to take you on another trip sometime, if that's okay with you Owen?”

“Why would anyone want to travel in that manner?” Owen asked, having not admitted to any of them that the trip had made him feel quite queezy.

“Because she can take us anywhere we desire, in time and space,” Rose told him with a smile. “and some places you don't desire because she has a mind of her own at times!”

“But that makes for the best adventures!” The Doctor exclaimed. “Now, we need to sit down and formulate a plan for freeing Klanrk so we can take him home.”

“I vote for our place, I need coffee and Ianto's is worth dying for,” Jack suggested.

“Lets hope it doesn't come to that!” Ianto dead-panned.

“Ours it is then,” Jack said, leading the way out of the garden and into the street towards his own house.

“There's that ginger cat again,” Ianto noted, spotting it creeping along almost out of sight under a row of rose bushes.

“It seems extremely curious, even for a cat,” Toshiko agreed. “I often find it peering in through our windows, along with that white one it hangs around with.”

“Bloody cats, I hate them,” Owen stated, watching it stop and sit down and seemingly watch them continue their journey. “it's like they try to spook you deliberately.”

Both Rose and the Doctor looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“What?” The other four all asked in sync.

“Lets get indoor and I'll let you into a secret,” the Doctor told them with a wide grin. “but only if I can trouble you for a cup of tea rather than coffee.”

“Done,” Ianto agreed, pulling the house keys from his pocket as they walked up the front path to the door and let them all in before him and then firmly closed the door, following them into the kitchen where they all say around the wooden table while he turned on the coffee machine and kettle.

“Come on then, let us in on whatever it is that made you both burst out laughing?” Toshiko asked, looking at the Doctor, then Rose and then back to the Doctor again.

“Haven't you noticed anything even slightly familiar about the cats?” Rose asked them.

“Only that one is ginger and the other white, a little like the woman who lives there and the man who visits,” Ianto shrugged.

“And you call yourselves alien specialists?” The Doctor laughed again.

“Oh you've got to be kidding me!” Toshiko exclaimed, the realisation of the Doctors words hitting her first.

“What?” Owen asked. “Will someone please explain, Doctor?”

“Donna and her friend are both visitors to this planet,” the Doctor replied, taking great delight in doing so. “Rose and I found them being experimented on a few years ago while we were investigating some strange going-ons on the planet Jwarl, their planet isn't inhabitable any more due to a radiation spill as we discovered when we tried to return them home so we brought them here.”

“So, what you're telling us is that Donna and her friend and the cats are one and the same?” Jack asked.

The Doctor nodded and accepted his cup of tea from Ianto. “They've done a fantastic job of blending it, their ability to take on human form works very well here.”

“I knew there was something strange going on in that house,” Ianto stated, handing out the coffee's, first to their guests and then Jack before taking a seat beside him with his own.

“Their feline form is their natural state but they have the ability to blend in with their surroundings,” Rose added. “we offered to let them have the use of out house, pretend to be our pets but they felt they would be a burden and wanted a place of their own.”

“So we arranged for them to take the house at the end of the street, it's easy with some psychic paper and a brilliant brain like mine to talk anyone into anything,” the Doctor told them. “as far as the real owners of the house are aware – they weren't living in it at the time – the house isn't habitable and can't be demolished for environmental reasons.”

“But that makes no sense,” Toshiko frowned.

“I know, that's what makes it so brilliant!” The Doctor exclaimed. “They are getting a payment every month in rent from Donna who works as a temp but as far as they are concerned it's from some non existent environmental charity.”

“Should we let them know that we know the truth about them?” Toshiko asked. “Maybe we can help them in some way?”

“No, it's best to just let them be, they've made a good life for themselves here,” Rose replied. “they might feel threatened and feel they have to move if they discover that others know their secret.”

“That's fair enough,” Jack agreed. “but I'm glad we know the truth now, we can stop wondering about them.”

“So, onto the real reason we're here, how do we rescue Klanrk and get him home?” Ianto asked. “Any idea's Doctor?”

“Now that you mention it,” he answered.

“Okay, lets hear it,” Jack said, putting his coffee cup down on the table as a hush settled across the room. 

TBC


	28. Chapter 28

“It's simple really,” the Doctor told them. “now we know exactly where Klanrk is being held we can fly the TARDIS straight into the room, bundle him inside and leave, easy peasy!”  
“And set off the alarms again?” Toshiko asked.

“But we can be in and out before they even realise we've been there,” Rose added. “if we land directly in his room.”

“But what if we land in the outer room?” Ianto asked. “That glass looked at least three inches thick and it's bound to be fortified in some way.”

The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver from his inside pocket with a flourish and grinned at them.

“I can chance the frequency and use it like a glass cutter,” he told them.

“But that will just prolong the escape,” Jack argued. “we might as well just announce we're coming.”

“Okay, if I can get into the computer systems remotely then I can disable the alarm to the lower level,” Toshiko butted in. “that way there is no reason for them to suspect we are there.”

“Surely they'll have locked you out of the system by now?” Owen stated.

“Since when has anything like that ever stopped a genius like me?” Toshiko replied with a shy smile.

“If you believe you can do it, then so do I,” Owen nodded, smiling back proudly at his wife.

“The what are we waiting for, we should go and rescue Klanrk,” Ianto stated, getting to his feet.

“No, not yet,” Jack told him. “they'll still be searching for us, we need to wait until the morning at least when they have reassured themselves that we're gone for good.”

“Do you think they'll come after us?” Toshiko asked Jack. “We did help you all escape?”

“What can they do but fire us?” Owen responded. “And I guess that's already happened, if not officially, we'll find our letters on the may in the morning informing us of our dismissal.”

“They could class it as treason,” Toshiko asked worriedly. “couldn't they?”

“I don't think they would go that far,” Rose said thoughtfully. “but they might try and fabricate a felony to get you arrested.”

“Dammit!” Owen grumbled, slamming his coffee mug hard down on the table. “We'll never get another job like it if they do that.”

“Would you want to, after what you discovered today?” The Doctor asked him.

“How about coming to work for Torchwood?” Jack put in before Owen could reply. “We lost the rest of our team a while ago and we could do with a good medic and a computer genius.”

“But don't you just hunt down aliens and kill them?” Owen asked, frowning.

“Why is it that everyone thinks we are murderers?” Jack asked Ianto.

“Because no-one knows what we really do, that's the trouble with secret organisations,” Ianto shrugged in reply. “the secrets just fuel the rumours and everyone just comes to their own conclusions.”

“Then tell us Jack, exactly what Torchwood is?” Toshiko asked.

“Okay … we are beyond the government, outside the police,” Jack answered, going into his well worn speech. “we answer only to the crown, Queen Elizabeth II herself and are main priority is to track down alien life on earth. Not to extinguish their life in most cases but to help them back home if they fall through the rift or send them on their way when they come here accidentally or through curiosity. Of course some aliens are hostile and we have to, albeit reluctantly kill them but we also need to arm the human race against the future. The twenty first century is when everything changes and Torchwood are ready, but the planet isn't and we need to help them be so.”

The Doctor was nodding slowly, adding. “The Twenty first century is when earth becomes aware of aliens for the first time, before now it was all just seen as rumours or madmen imagining it but soon human kind will get a real taste of what and who are living among the stars and they will need to be prepared.”

“By the next century the human race will be spread across the universe,” Jack continued.

“How exactly do you know all this?” Toshiko asked Jack curiously. “I can understand the Doctor knowing, but what about you?”  
Jack glanced over at Ianto.

“It's your story Jack, it's for you to tell if you wish them to know.” Ianto told him.

Jack looked at them all one by one, assessing them all before speaking.

“I'm not from this planet, or this time,” Jack said, causing a small gasp from both Owen and Toshiko. “I'm from the 51st century, I was a Time Agent, my job was to stop people from messing with time lines but something happened and they stole two years of my life.”

“How can someone steal two years of your life?” Owen butted in.

“With the use of a certain drug,” Jack told him. “I have no idea what they stole but that was when I left the agency and went rogue, I began working for myself, a conman if you will and after coming to earth during World War two I managed to get myself stuck here and I was recruited by Torchwood sometime later.”

“How did you end up being recruited by Torchwood?” The Doctor asked him.

“They were watching me it seemed,” I was in Cardiff by then and on day I found myself waking up and restrained by two women who wanted to know where I was from and it went from there … I wasn't too happy with their definition of Torchwood and in time turned it into what it is now.”

“Don't you miss home?” Rose asked him curiously. “The Doctor could take you home too.”

“I left home a long time ago, I don't really know where I belong. Maybe it doesn't matter now,” Jack replied.

“I know you get lonely,” Ianto put in quietly.

“Going home wouldn't fix that,” Jack told him with a small smile at his lover, seemingly speaking directly to him as he continued. “Being here, I've seen things that I never dreamt I'd see, loved people I never would have known if I'd stayed where I was and I wouldn't change that for the world. I'm never lonely when I'm with you.”

There was a small cough from Owen, breaking the look that was being shared by the two men.

“But you don't look old enough to have been here during the second world war?” Owen asked.

“I'm not completely human, but mostly,” Jack explained. “my life expectancy is almost double that of yours and I age more slowly, accordingly.”

“You knew all this Ianto?” Rose asked him.

“Jack and I have no secrets,” Ianto told her. “it wouldn't help either of us for me to be in the dark about Jack's past.”

“There is one thing though, the average life expectancy of a Torchwood employee isn't past thirty,” Jack said, changing to subject away from himself. “do you think you could risk dying young for a job?”

“We'd have to think about it,” Owen replied and Toshiko nodded in agreement.

“Then do so, it's your choice,” Jack replied. “sleep on it.”

“We will,” Toshiko answered for them both.

“Right, then we should all get some rest and prepare for Klanrk's rescue in the morning,” the Doctor suggested. “the early hours would be best, before the whole workforce gets in.”

“Four am work for everyone?” Jack asked and there was a collective murmurer of agreement around the table. “Right, we shall meet here at four, Toshiko can do her thing and disable the alarms and then we head straight out in the TARDIS for the rescue.”

“Sorted,” Rose said, rising from her seat. “lets get home.”

Everyone followed suit and they walked towards the front door, Jack and Ianto watching them until they had left via the path and then closed the door behind them.

“Do you think that was wise, telling them the truth?” Ianto asked the Captain.

“Yeah, it won't have shocked the Doctor, or Rose for that matter in the least and as for Owen and Toshiko, well I think it will encourage them to take the offered jobs.” Jack responded. “now, there's been enough talk about me this afternoon, it's time I thanked you properly for rescuing me.”

“I told you before, you really have Toshiko to thank for that,” Ianto replied modestly.

“But you were there, you were the one who un-cuffed me and I think you might get a little jealous if I was to thank Toshiko in the way I have in mind for you!” Jack grinned.

“Really?” Ianto asked, trying to look innocent.

“Oh yeah!” Jack chuckled and grabbed the younger man's hand to lead him up the stairs.

TBC


	29. Chapter 29

It didn't take them long for them to strip each other naked once they reached their bedroom, Jack pulled his lover into his arms and kissed him deeply, his tongue exploring each and every inch of Ianto's mouth and teasing the roof of his mouth wit the tip of it until they had to part panting for air.

“Lay on the bed, on your front,” Jack rasped huskily into the younger man's ear, nibbling on it gently for a fraction of a moment before releasing his lover from his embrace.

Ianto pressed his reddened lips to the Captains for a brief moment and then moved across the room to the bed, crawling up it's length on his hands and knees to give his lover a birds eye view of his arse before spreading the full length of his body along the mattress.

“Part your legs,” Jack instructed, moving to the foot of the bed and admiring the view before him, resisting the urge to wank himself off there and then at the sight of his lover baring himself so wantonly before him.

Ianto moved his arms to place his hands under his pillow and rested his head atop it, his whole body shivering in anticipation as Jack moved onto the bed between his parted legs and pressed a soft kiss to each buttock in turn.

“I'm going to show you just how grateful I am that you rescued me,” Jack said, resting on his hands and leaning forwards to whisper into his lovers ear. “all I ask is that you don't come until I'm buried inside you.”

“Okay,” Ianto mumbled back, his thoughts whirling over what he knew was coming.

Jack moved his knees back down the bed a little until he was in position and resting on his forearms his hands clutched his lovers buttocks and parted them, exposing the younger man's entrance to him.

Upon feeling the younger man tremble in excitement Jack dipped his head down and licked his way slowly along the full length of his lovers crack, feeling the delicious way the hole contracted as his tongue swept over it and then back again to follow the same path and finishing off by planting a kiss to his lovers hole.

“Good?” Jack asked, smiling at the younger man's breathless. “Yep.”

“It's going to get better,” Jack told him with an unseen grin.

The Captain dropped his head down again and using the tip of his tongue to circle the edges of his lovers entrance, feeling the tight muscle quiver as he swept repeatedly around it and then flicked it across the expectant hole causing Ianto to let out a long, low moan.

“Oh god Jack ...” Ianto murmured breathlessly.

Jack continued his ministrations without hesitation, he pressed the tip of his tongue against the entrance of his lovers body and felt it contract and relax at his touch, increasing the pressure a little he eased the first few millimetres of his tongue into his lovers body.

“Oh fuck!” Ianto exclaimed, willing his body to relax, wanting more and more and canting his arse upwards into his lovers face.

Jack withdrew his tongue and immediately thrust it into his lovers hole again, this time pushing within slightly deeper and repeated the action over and over until the younger man was panting beneath him, his hips moving in small movements as he pressed his cock onto the mattress beneath him, desperate for some friction.

“So close, so fucking close,” Ianto all but yelled to his lover.

Jack didn't stop, his tongue continuing it's path into his lovers most intimate hole, teasing the muscle until it was loose enough for his to slide a finger inside along side his tongue and brushing it over the younger man's prostate.

“Jack, oh fuck Jack , please ...” Ianto managed to pant out, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to hold off his threatening orgasm much longer.

Jack withdrew his tongue and slid a second finger into the very wet and relaxed hole, his mouth moving the the young man's buttocks, sucking and grazing the tender skin of one until he drew a large love bite to the surface of the pale skin while a slipping the third finger into his lovers body.

“I'm going to fuck you so slowly,” Jack told him, lifting his head from his lovers arse and sliding his fingers from the entrance to his body. “move up onto your knees.”

Ianto did so instantly, resting on his forearms, his engorged and neglected cock hanging heavily from between his legs while Jack reached for the lube and poured a small amount into the palm of his hand and used it to coat his cock.

“Do you want lube?” Jack asked, knowing already what his lovers reply would be.

“No, nope ...” Ianto told him, his accent full of need. “just fuck me, please just fuck me!”

Jack positioned himself close to his lovers body and pressed the blunt head of his cock against his lovers hole, he could almost feel it drawing his cock inside as he slowly pushed his way into Ianto's body and didn't stop until he was fully seated.

“You're arse feels so tight, so hot around my cock,” Jack told Ianto, his voice coming out in a low gasp.

“Touch me, touch me and move,” Ianto pleaded. “I need to come.”

Jack wrapped his arms around his lovers waist and pulled his up and backwards so that Ianto's back rested against his chest, moving one hand to tangle his fingers into the soft hairs that coated his chest to help support him and wrapped the other around his lovers erection.

“Ride me,” Jack urged, pushing upwards into his lovers body.

Ianto rose using his thigh muscles to push his body upwards and then thrust back down again while Jack's hand worked on his cock, his movements gaining momentum as his lovers and worked faster and faster on his erection, each movement bringing him closer and closer to his release.

“Gonna come,” Ianto panted, riding his lovers cock hard. “gonna come.”

“Come for me, let me feel you come,” Jack urged, wanking his lovers cock even faster as he felt it swell just that little more in his grip and was rewarded when he felt his the muscles of his lovers arse clench over and over around his cock as he came, the long white streams of his come shooting out in an arc over his fist and onto the bedding below with a yell of the Captains name.

“Yeah, oh yeah” Jack yelled, letting his own orgasm overtake him, thrusting deep into his lovers arse as his own essence shot into it's tight confines.

Jack rested his head on his lovers back for a good few long moments until they both stopped shuddering and then slowly withdrew his softening cock from his lovers body, both of them dropping down onto the mattress and neither of them caring about the damp spot as they drew into each others arms.

“You look so beautiful when you're like this,” Jack whispered.

“Hot, sweaty and sticky?” Ianto asked with a small chuckle.

“Spent and satisfied,” Jack answered truthfully, kissing him deeply.

“Who says I'm spent?” Ianto asked, rolling Jack over onto his back and grinning at him.

“Care to prove it? Jack asked, his cock already twitching again.

“Any time, gorgeous,” Ianto answered and dipped his head down to nip at the Captains nipple.

TBC


	30. Chapter 30

When the alarm clock went off at three thirty in the morning there were long, loud groans from both Jack and Ianto, having been gone two in the morning before they finally got around to going to sleep neither of them wanted to leave the cosy, warm confines of their bed.

“The others will be here in thirty minutes and counting,” Ianto grumbled, flinging back the duvet and shivering as the cool, early morning air hit his naked body. “up!”

“We should share a shower, it'll save time,” Jack replied, reluctantly following his lovers lead and getting out of bed, albeit a little more slowly.

“If you promise to behave yourself, we don't have the time for anything other than getting clean,” Ianto nodded, trying to ignore both his and the Captains very prominent morning glories.

“I'm sure I can manage that,” Jack replied, pouting slightly at his lover.

“Good, go and start the shower so it can heat up and I'll run down and start the coffee machine,” Ianto told him, dashing off out the room.

Jack headed for the bathroom, turned on the shower and brushed his teeth while waiting for the water to heat up and Ianto's return.

“Bloody hell, it's freezing!” Ianto exclaimed entering the bathroom and closing the door behind him to keep the heat from the shower in the room.

Jack rinsed his mouth and spat the water into the sink, moving to put his hand under the flow of water to check it's temperature while Ianto brushed his own teeth and declaring it ready he stepped under the cascading water and let out a long sigh of pleasure as the hot water warmed his body.

“That feels good,” Ianto said, joining Jack in the shower and letting out a long yawn.

“After this is over, we need to get back to bed,” Jack replied, following his lovers yawn with one of his own. “to sleep, I mean.”

“I bet I can be asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow,” Ianto agreed, washing his face a little roughly in an attempt to wake himself up a little more.

“As long as we don't doze off in that TARDIS of the Doctor's we'll be fine,” Jack chuckled softly, pulling the younger man closer and kissing his softly.

“Fine chance they'd be of that, it's like travelling in a roller coaster,” Ianto laughed back, pulling away and continuing to wash his body while Jack washed his hair and added cheekily. “we should get a move on or they'll be here before we're even dressed and you know how long it takes you to get your hair 'just so'”

“You love my hair, just admit it,” Jack grinned, rinsing away the soap suds and stealing another kiss before stepping out of the shower and wrapping a huge towel around himself while he dried his hair with a smaller one.

“I do, I do,” Ianto agreed, following Jack out of the shower and turning off the water. “but I'm so glad mine only takes a fraction of the time to get into place.”

“Then while I 'faff around with my hair' as you like to describe it, you can make us some toast, I don't know about you, but I'm starving!” Jack told him with a wink.

“Yep, me too,” Ianto replied, blushing slightly at the memory of their long night of lovemaking, drying himself quickly and then heading off to the bedroom to dress with Jack close behind.

Once dressed Ianto hurried back downstairs aware that they had barely ten minutes before the others arrived and shoved some toast into the toaster, reached for two mugs and poured the coffee, taking a long sip he imagined he could feel the caffeine flowing through his body and helping to motivate him for the day.

“That was in record time,” Ianto told Jack when he appeared less than five minutes later, his hair looking perfect.

“It'll have to do,” Jack replied, grabbing a piece of toast that Ianto had buttered while waiting for him to come downstairs, he took a large bite, chewed it quickly and then washed it down with a glug of coffee.

“They're here,” Ianto said needlessly as a loud knock came to the front door, he placed his mug in the sink and went to answer it, leaving Jack to finish his hurried breakfast.

“Come in,” Ianto told the small gathering on his doorstep, stepping aside so they could do so.

“I've brought my laptop with me,” Toshiko told him, holding up the item as she passed him into the house. “I've already done the preliminaries so all I need to do now is hack into the security systems.”

“She never made it to bed last night,” Owen added as Ianto closed the door. “she was too intent on getting everything right today.”

“You can talk,” Toshiko huffed back at him. “you were barely in bed a couple of hours before you reappeared at my side.”

“I was feeling lonely,” Owen shrugged. “you know I hate to sleep alone.”

“Awww,” Rose said softly with a smile.

“What?” Owen asked, looking around at her.

“It's just, well, that's so sweet,” Rose told him.

“Yeah, well ...” Owen muttered and then trailed off feeling uncharacteristically a little embarrassed.

“We didn't sleep much either,” the Doctor admitted causing Jack to grin and wink at him.

“What he means is we were in the TARDIS checking out where Klanrk's home planet was and making sure it was still inhabitable,” Rose replied, sparing the Doctor's blushes. “going back in time wouldn't be the best plan but we have no idea how long Klanrk's been here and anything could have happened in the meantime.”

“But it's okay for him to go travel back without going back in time?” Toshiko asked, concerned for the aliens welfare.

“Oh yes!” The Doctor assured her.

“So, are we ready?” Jack asked, appearing from the kitchen, trying desperately to hide the huge yawn that followed his words.

“You didn't get much sleep either then I take it?” Rose grinned, not missing the rather large love bite on the older man's neck that she would have sworn hadn't been there the day before.

“Too much to do,” Ianto added, feeling the blush creep to his cheeks as he led them through to the dining room where Toshiko could finish what she'd started on her laptop.

“This will only take a few minutes,” Toshiko informed them, setting the laptop down on the dining room table. “I don't want to disable it indefinitely, does half an hour sound long enough?”

“Better make it forty five minutes, just to be on the safe side,” the Doctor replied. “I don't foresee any problems but you can never plan completely for the future.”

“Okay,” Toshiko nodded, tapping away furiously at the keyboard. “done, we should get going.”

“Actually, if you don't mind I'd rather wait here,” Owen told them. “just the thought of travelling again in the TARDIS is making me feel squeamish!”

“Actually, that's not a bad idea,” Jack answered. “can you get your medical kit ready, just to give Klanrk the once over before the Doctor takes him home?”

“The TARDIS can ...” the Doctor began but Rose cut him off.

“Good idea jack,” Rose said, giving the Doctor a look that left him in no doubt that he should keep quiet on the subject.

“Sure, although I'm not really qualified to know just how his body should behave when it's normal,” Owen stated.

“Just a general health check, make sure he seems healthy and we can add any details he gives us to the Torchwood database,” Jack replied.

“Right, lets get going then,” Ianto suggested. “we're just wasting time.”

“You're right,” Jack agreed, handing Owen a door key so that he could let himself back in once he'd retrieved his medical kit from his own house.

Owen walked along the street with them for a short while and then after wishing them good luck headed for his own house while they made their way to the Doctor's back garden and the TARDIS.

Not one of them spotted Gwen Cooper watching them from a small gap in the curtains in her bedroom window.

TBC


	31. Chapter 31

“Gwen, what you doing love?” Rhys asked sleepily, peering out from barely open eyelids. “it's … only four twenty in the morning.”

“I'm telling you, something strange is going on,” Gwen replied, still peering around the edge of the curtain and down into the street below. “why on earth would Owen, Toshiko, Rose and the Doctor be visiting Ianto and Jack at four in the morning and then them all leaving again together?”

“I don't know, and I really don't bloody care love,” Rhys mumbled. “perhaps they're wife swapping or part of some ram-raid gang but whatever it is, it's none of our business, come back to bed.”

“There haven't been any ram-raids around here for years,” Gwen told him. “so it can't be that, ooh, it looks like Owen's not going with them. He's gone home to his own house and the other have gone to the Doctor's!”

“Perhaps he forgot the condoms!” Rhys snarked. “now get back to bloody bed woman before I have to get up and drag you back in!”

“Promises, promises,” Gwen chuckled, dropping the curtain now that all the others had gone out of sight again but not moving from her spot by the window.

“Okay, you asked for it,” Rhys grinned, now fully awake and got out of bed to rush over to his wife, pick her up off her feet and then dump her on the bed.

“Oh I do like it when you come over all macho,” Gwen giggled, lifting her arms so Rhys could pull off her nightie.

“Much more fun that spying on the neighbours!” Rhys smirked and then pinned her to the bed, kissing her hard.

~*~*~

The TARDIS came to a judder, stopping in it's usual noisy manner and the Doctor turned on the video screen to check where they had landed.

“We did it, we've landed inside Klanrk's room,” the Doctor said excitedly. “and more importantly we didn't land on top of him!”

“Always a plus, not landing on the alien you plan to rescue,” Ianto dead panned.

“You're positive we've not set any alarms off this time?” Jack asked Toshiko who was pressing keys on her laptop.

“Yes, we're undetected so far,” she replied, nodding and then pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

“Klanrk looks rather bemused,” Rose observed, watching the alien as it tapped on the outside of the TARDIS and then sniffed it.

“Right, then we should get him out of here before they discover us,” Jack instructed.

“Follow me,” the Doctor instructed, striding towards to door and flinging it open.

“Klanrk, remember us, we're here to rescue you!” The Doctor exclaimed, flinging his arms up dramatically.

“You're really going to take me home?” the alien asked, his voice filling their minds.

“We are, I promise,” Rose told him. “we just want to check you over and make sure you're okay first, is that okay with you?”

“Check me over?” Klanrk asked, a little unsure.

“Just to make sure they haven't put anything into your system that shouldn't be there, things like that,” Ianto told the alien. “we won't hurt you.”

“And then I get to go home, to my family?” Klanrk asked.

“Yeah,” Jack replied with a grin.

“We really should get going,” Rose urged. “do you want to bring anything Klanrk?”

“Some food, is that okay?” The alien answered.

“Bring whatever you like,” the Doctor replied. “plenty of room in the TARDIS.”

“Thank you,” Klanrk replied and set about gathering up various items of food and placing them into a large plastic box set in one corner of the room before lifting it all and announcing he was ready.

Klanrk let the Doctor lead him into the TARDIS, he placed the box of food onto the floor and glanced around, then looked straight at the Doctor.

“Are you sure this will get me home?” the alien asked the Doctor, not looking at all impressed.

“Of course!” The Doctor grinned. “she'll only be too happy to help.”

“I've had a thought, it would be better if we took Klanrk to the hub, we have more advanced equipment there,” Jack butted in. “scanners that would detect anything foreign to Klanrk's system without having to perform any invasive procedures.”

“But Owen is expecting us back at your house?” Toshiko put in.

“Not a problem, do you have your mobile with you?” Jack asked her and she nodded. “just send him and text and ask him to wait for us on the Plass by the water tower.”

“The water tower?” Toshiko replied, frowning slightly. “that's where your headquarters are?”

“You'll see when we get there,” Ianto told her with a smile. “you won't be disappointed, I can guarantee it.”

“Okay, right,” Toshiko said, pulling out her mobile and doing as instructed while Jack gave the Doctor the coordinates of the hub for him to feed into the TARDIS.

“Ready?” The Doctor asked.

“Go for it!” Jack replied loudly while Rose chatted with Klanrk about his home planet.

TBC


	32. Chapter 32

Jack opened the door of the TARDIS and led the rest of them out and into the main chamber of the hub with a huge grin on his face.

“Welcome to Torchwood!” He told them, spreading his arms wide proudly.

“Blimey, the TARDIS actually landed where it was meant to,” Rose told the Doctor cheekily.

“She can behave herself when she wants to,” the Doctor answered a little distractedly, taking in his surroundings. “so where exactly are we?”

“Below the Plass,” Jack explained. “right beneath the water tower.”

“I can sense other life forms,” Klanrk stated, his voice filling their heads once more.

“That would be Myfanwy, our resident Pterodactyl,” Ianto told them and pursed his lips to give a short, high pitched whistle.

A loud screech filled the air followed by the flapping of wings and the creature in question came swooping down towards them.

“Holy shit!” Toshiko exclaimed, watching the prehistoric creature fly around the air space above them. “She's beautiful, where did you get her?”

“She came though the rift,” Jack explained. “we have no way of returning her to her own time so we take care of her.”

“But surely you can't keep her cooped up in here?” Rose interjected.

“We don't, we keep her well fed so that she doesn't need to hunt and then we can let her out at night to spread her wings,” Ianto answered.

“Hasn't anyone seen her? Someone must have sighted a strange creature even at night?” The Doctor asked while smiling at the the creature.

“She's become a bit of an urban legend around here,” Jack chuckled. “people claim to have seen what looks like a flying dinosaur but no-one actually believes them.”

“Like most urban legends,” the Doctor said, nodding.

“Doesn't she ever attack you?” Toshiko asked a little nervously.

“Nope, I think she sees us as her family of sorts now,” Ianto explained. “watch this.”

With that Ianto pulled out a drawer of a nearby desk and extracted a bar of chocolate, pulled back the wrapping and broke the bar in half, returning the remaining half to the drawer before holding out out in his hand.

“Chocolate?” Klanrk asked, even to him it sounded a strange thing to give the creature.

“Preferably dark,” Ianto grinned as Myfanwy swooped down lower and then landed on the ground a couple of yards away from them.

Ianto moved slowly forwards, holding his hand out the whole time, towards Myfanwy until the gap was almost closed and nodded at her.

The assembled visitors watched in amazement as Myfanwy reached out with her long neck and appeared to take the chocolate from his hand as carefully as a well trained dog and then swallowed it almost whole, with minimum chewing.

“That's amazing!” Rose exclaimed while the others nodded in agreement, the spell broken when Toshiko's mobile went off in her pocket.

“Excuse me,” she said, pulling it from her pocket and answering it. “Hi Owen, yes, sorry.” She turned to Jack without cutting the call. “It's Owen, he's moaning about being on the Plass on a cold winter morning and wondering where the hell we are and could we please go and collect him before he freezes!” She explained.

“I'll go and get him now,” Jack told her. “tell him to wait by the water fountain.”

“Jack's on his way,” Toshiko said into the phone.

“I heard,” Owen replied. “see you soon.”

“Bye,” Toshiko replied, desperate to tell him about her surroundings but also wanting him to get the same surprise that she'd had.

Jack jogged across the room towards the slab that made up the invisible lift and hopped onto it, pressed the relevant buttons on his wrist strap and then began his ascent up towards the Plass.

*~*~*

Owen pulled his coat more tightly around his body in an attempt to keep the cold, biting wind from making contact with his body and glanced about him, trying to spot the Captain from whatever direction he came from.

What he never expected was the man to appear seemingly out of nowhere and almost scare the life out of him.

“What the …? Where the fuck did you come from?” Owen gasped.

“Just behind you, a perception filter stops you from seeing me until I step out of it's range,” Jack explained simply, took a few steps backwards and vanished from the medics sight again only to reappear a moment or two later. “see?”

“Perception filter? That sounds like something out of a Harry Potter movie!” Owen replied, moving a couple of steps towards the spot where Jack had vanished out of curiosity.

“More science fiction than fantasy,” Jack chuckled. “come on.”

With that Jack led him onto the slab.

“And now what?” Owen asked. “and can no-one really see us now?”

Jack pointed at the two young women about to pass them and yelled out.

“Have you been out all night? What will your parents think?”

The two young women, barely past their teens glanced about the Plass, a look of confusion crossing their faces before they grabbed at each others hands and fled across the Plass.

“That was a little mean,” Owen frowned.

“They'll just think they imagined it,” Jack shrugged. “now, hold on tight!”

With that Jack activated the lift with his wrist strap and Owen found himself clutching at the Captain in shock as the slab began to descent downwards.

“What the hell?” Owen asked, looking down and then up the rather smug look on Jack's face.

“Welcome to Torchwood,” Jack told him, just as the slab came to a halt at the bottom.

“Owen, this place is amazing!” Toshiko exclaimed, running across the hub to hug her husband. “they even have a pet Pterodactyl!”

“You're kidding, right?” he asked, walking across the main hub with her.

“Nope,” Toshiko grinned.

“You haven't seen anything yet,” Ianto said with a grin. “would you all like the tour before we start?”

“Lead the way,” the Doctor instructed above all the excitement Ianto's offer had caused.

“The follow me,” Ianto told them.

TBC


	33. Chapter 33

Once they had led the visitors around the hub Jack took Klanrk down to the medical bay along with Owen, giving the medic a more through tour of the facility than the basic one they had given the group and asked him to use what he needed to test the alien before sending him off home, wary of any contaminants he may have contracted that would prove bad for his home planet.

“Nothing invasive, I promise,” Jack said reassuringly to the alien, seeing the slightly worried look on it's face. “most things can be discovered by using the scanners, but we would like to take some blood, only if that's okay with you of course.”

“You won't cut me?” Klanrk's asked, his nervousness clear as his question filled their minds.

“No, nothing like that,” Owen told him, a nod from Jack making him secure in his answer. “did they do that to you? In the Phillips Institute?”

“No,” Klanrk confirmed. “I just wanted to make sure.”

“That's understandable,” Jack told Klanrk with a smile. “now, I shall leave you in Owen's capable hands, if there's anything you need to know just ask and Owen, once you have all the readings give Ianto or myself a call so we can help analyse them.”

“Consider it done Jack,” Owen responded, reaching for the box of latex gloves and pulling out two. “It's okay to call you Jack? You wouldn't prefer Captain or Sir?”

“Jack's fine,” Jack grinned. “only Ianto gets to call me Sir around here.”

And then with a wink at the medic he bounded off up the stairs and up to the conference room where the others – except for Rose who had gone into the TARDIS again to research what she could about Klanrk's home planet for Ianto - were sat drinking Ianto's coffee.

“I can always get the TARDIS to analyse Klanrk, it would probably be quicker?” The Doctor suggested.

“Thanks, but I'd like to give Owen the experience, it'll help him decide if he'd like to join us here and become one of our team,” Jack replied. “I think he would be a valuable asset.”

“Fair enough,” the Doctor answered.

“So, Toshiko, what do you think?” Jack asked her. “Would you like to come and work here, help protect the planet and prepare it for the future?”

Toshiko's wide eyes gave away her excitement before she could even speak, a wide smile stretching across her face.

“Your computer system, from what I've seen of it is amazing,” she gushed. “it's so beyond anything I've ever worked with and I think, given time to get used to the system I could get it to do the most amazing things!”

“It's not completely terrestrial,” Ianto said to her with a small chuckle.

“You mean … it's alien?” Toshiko asked excitedly.

“Parts of it,” Ianto admitted. “sometimes useful things come through the rift, technology that we're able to use, like the scanner Owen is probably using on Klanrk as we speak.”

“That alien in the cell, Janet?” Toshiko asked. “Are there more like that or more like Klanrk.”

“To be honest, it's about fifty-fifty,” Jack responded. “but I can't lie to you, this job is dangerous, you could die in the line of duty.”

“I think the chance to work here out weighs the risk by a million to one!” Toshiko exclaimed excitedly. “when do I start?”

“Is tomorrow too soon?” Ianto grinned.

“No, no!” Toshiko laughed, jumping up from her seat, first to hug Ianto tightly and then Jack. “The sooner the better.”

“Of course you'll need training before we can take you out into the field,” Jack said as she returned to her seat. “weapons training is a priority, along with methods of self defence, you need to be able to defend yourself to the best of your ability.”

“I did karate when I was a kid, until I was about sixteen,” Toshiko informed him. “I'm probably very rusty but it shouldn't take long for it all to come back to me.”

“Like riding a bike!” Ianto exclaimed.

“Then you have an advantage already,” Jack smiled at the woman.

“I do have to tell you that I really don't like the idea of weapons,” the Doctor said, butting in.

“They are only used as a last resort,” Jack told him. “we do everything we can before we turn to them, I wasn't lying when I told you that we weren't here to just hunt down and kill aliens.”

“Then I shall have to accept your reasons,” the Doctor told him solemnly. “but I will be keeping an eye on you.”

“Feel free,” Jack told him confidently. “do you need to make any preparations to the TARDIS before taking Klanrk home?”

“Once Owen has finished the tests I'll take Klanrk into the TARDIS again and input any information the alien can give me into her system,” the Doctor answered. “I want to return him as close to the time that he was taken as possible, I would hate to deliver him back only to find that his family had already passed. Or hadn't even been born for that matter.”

“I'm not sure what to do about the Phillips Institute,” Jack admitted. “we have no way of knowing if they can still produce those diet pills without Klanrk, or if they are still capable of doing so even with him gone.”

“That technology shouldn't exist yet,” the Doctor replied seriously. “that facility needs shutting down and all evidence of the diet pills removed, but that's not so easily done with the people responsible.”

“We can take care of them,” Ianto put in. “we can administer retcon to wipe it from their memories.”

“We can also make them think they are working on something else that the Institute is also involved with,” Jack added.

“It won't harm them?” The Doctor asked.

“Nope, not in the slightest,” Ianto assured him.

“I can get back into their computer systems and destroy all the on-line evidence,” Toshiko broke into the conversation. “which would save on the time needed to get rid of the physical evidence.”

“Great idea,” Jack told her. “do you think you're ready to start on that later, once the Doctor has left to take Klanrk home?”

“Yep,” she replied with a positive nod of the head.

“Fantastic,” Jack told her. “I should go and see how Owen is getting on with the tests.”

“More coffee anyone?” Ianto asked, rising from his seat. “Tea, Doctor?”

Both Toshiko and the Doctor held up their mugs, Ianto took them and headed downstairs to the main hub, after putting the kettle on starting the coffee machine he made his way across the main hub to the invisible lift, heading outside to the TARDIS to find out how Rose was getting on with the research.

TBC


	34. Chapter 34

“Owen,” Jack called, reaching the top of the steps that led down to the medical bay. “any news on those tests?”

“I'm just finishing up now,” Owen told him, looking up at Jack as he descended down the stairs.

“Klanrk, are you okay?” Jack asked the alien. “Nothing was done without your consent?”

“Everything is fine,” the alien answered, indicating the small plaster attached the the inside of his elbow. “even that barely stung.”

“That's great,” Jack replied with a smile.

“So, the scanner didn't show up anything that I would consider untoward,” Owen informed Jack. “Klanrk pointed out his various vital organs for me so that we could add the details to the computer archive system.”

“And the blood tests?” Jack asked, nodding happily.

“Nothing there either, except that Klanrk's cholesterol levels are a little high, no doubt brought on by all the junk food that he'd consumed while he was captive,” Owen answered. “once he's back on his own planet and eating normally again that should fall back down to normal, not that we'll be able to monitor them.”

“Then we should arrange to get you off home them Klanrk,” Jack told the alien. “the Doctor will need you to give him the date you were taken by the rift, if you can remember?”

Klanrk nodded. “I can remember the exact time, I had just glanced up at the twin suns and it was almost the middle of the light cycle.”

“And the date, the year?” Jack asked.

“Our calender, as I believe you call it is very different to ours, but I can assume from what I have seen of his TARDIS that the time machine will be able to work it out from my details,” Klanrk told him. “I have much to thank you for, all of you for making this possible.”

“No need,” Jack smiled at the alien. “there was no way we could leave you in that situation, all we want now is to get you back to your family. Lets go and find the Doctor.”

*~*~*

Ianto tapped lightly on the door of the TARDIS and it opened instantly, allowing him inside, he could see Rose standing at the main console pressing various buttons.

“She likes you,” Rose stated, looking around at him as he walked towards her.

“She likes me?” Ianto asked with a look of confusion, looking around the TARDIS and taking everything in again.

“The TARDIS, when you knocked she emitted a warm glow and opened the door for you,” Rose smiled. “can't you feel it, like she's wrapping herself around you?”

“Yeah ...” Ianto replied. “yep, now that you mention it, how is that possible?”

“The TARDIS was grown, not made,” Rose informed him. “she's not just an inanimate object.”

“And she's the last one?” Ianto asked, stroking his fingers absently along one edge of the ships console.

“Along with the Doctor,” Rose answered sadly. “even though he's rarely alone, takes companions to travel with him, sometimes I think he feels very lonely.”

“You are human then, from Earth?” Ianto asked her.

“Of course,” Rose laughed. “from this very time line, I belong here completely and utterly.”

“Then how did you meet him, the Doctor?” Ianto asked.

“I was working in a store in London when all hell broke loose,” Rose explained. “the shop dummies came to life and tried to kill me; he rescued me.”

“I remember that,” Ianto grinned. “we were just beginning to work out what was happening when it all stopped.”

“Yeah, we stopped the alien causing it,” Rose grinned back. “my gymnastics helped save the day!”

“You said that he takes companions, you're not the first?” Ianto asked her.

“No, there have been many before me,” Rose answered. “he doesn't really speak of them and I don't ask, to tell the truth I'm a little scared of what his answer would be.”

“That they died?” Ianto replied.

“Something like that,” Rose said with a sad smile. “I know I won't have him forever, but for the time I do have, I shall just enjoy being with him.”

“Are you more than just companions?” Ianto asked her. “Sorry, that really isn't any of my business.”

“At first we were just friends, but it eventually became more,” Rose told him. “I know it's hard for him to fall … fall in love with anyone because he knows he will eventually in one way or another and he just has to live on.”

“He's a lot older than he looks, isn't he?” Ianto asked. “His eyes look so much older than the rest of him.”

“He's around nine hundred years old,” Rose told him truthfully. “Time Lords are able to stop death, they regenerate; their appearance changes along with the personalality but they retain all their memories.”

“You've witnessed this, haven't you?” Ianto asked.

“Yeah, it was one hell of a shock I can tell you,” she sighed. “I had no idea, I thought he was going to die and leave me stranded on a space station called Satellite Five and he just changed in front of me, I thought I had lost him completely but he never really left me.”

“Can he do that indefinitely?” Ianto asked, his amazement sparkling in his eyes.

“Now that's something else I don't like to ask,” Rose admitted, pulling out what looked like a normal memory stick from the console and handing it to Ianto. “okay, I'm finished here. That's all the information the TARDIS has in it's data banks about Klanrk's planet, you can just upload it to your system as normal.”

“Much appreciated,” Ianto grinned. “we should go and find the others, find out if Klanrk is ready for his journey home.”

“Lead the way,” Rose replied and followed the young man out of the TARDIS, locking the door behind them.

TBC


	35. Chapter 35

“So Klanrk, this is goodbye,” Jack said, his voice tinged with sadness, he had become a little fond of the gentle alien in the short time they had known him.

“I look forward to going home and seeing my family,” Klanrk replied. “I regret not seeing more of your planet but I can understand that it wouldn't be advisable.”

“I might be able to help you with that,” the Doctor put in excitedly. “the TARDIS can show you much of the Earth's geography and history and don't forget it is a time machine, I maybe able to stop at some points along the way and you can venture out briefly using a perception filter.”

“A perception filter?” Klanrk's question echoed in their minds.

“It stops people knowing you're there,” the Doctor explained. “it's like seeing something out of the corner of your eye, you think you saw something but nothing appears to be there.”

“You have to be careful though, if you bump against someone you will become visible to them,” Rose added. “not a good thing if your visiting Edwardian or Victorian times.”

“Very true,” the Doctor smiled. “but we'll make sure nothing like that happens.”

“I'm going to miss you Klanrk,” Toshiko told the alien, grabbing him into an unexpected hug and startling him a little, his long body towering over hers as her head rested against his body, barely above his stomach.”

“It's a hug,” Ianto chuckled. “just go with it.”

Klanrk shrugged and carefully wrapped his long arms around the woman, mirroring her actions until she finally pulled back.

“This is a normal way to say goodbye?” Klanrk asked.

“Yep, sometimes,” Jack confirmed and when Klanrk grabbed Owen and pulled him into a hug the look on his face caused them all to burst out laughing.

“Okay mate, that's enough,” Owen spluttered, pulling back out of the aliens arms. “no offence, but I'm not really a hugging kind of bloke.”

“I did something wrong?” Klanrk asked quietly. “I thought you said it was normal?”

“It is for most people,” Rose assured him, moving a few feet to stand in front of the alien and hugged him in the same way that Toshiko had. “some people just aren't so tactile.”

“I understand,” Klanrk replied, hugging Rose gently before releasing her. “do the rest of you not wished to be hugged?”

“Hugging is great!” The Doctor exclaimed, grabbing the alien enthusiastically and hugging more tightly than either of the women had done. “I love to hug.”

“He does,” Rose confirmed with a small chuckle.

“Hey, don't I get a hug?” Jack asked a little impatiently when the Doctor clung onto Klanrk for much longer than any of the others had.

“Sorry, sure,” the Doctor grinned at him, releasing Klanrk and stepping aside to let Jack take his place.

“Maybe the Doctor can take us you visit you one day,” Jack suggested, looking at the Time Lord.

“Perhaps,” the Doctor said simply.

“I'd like that,” Klanrk smiled down at the Captain. “my family would like to meet you too.”

“Good, now it's Ianto turn for a hug,” Jack said, moving from the aliens embrace and Ianto went willingly into Klanrk's arms and hugged him affectionately.

“Right, this is the plan,” Jack spoke while the alien hugged his partner. “Toshiko and Owen are going to stay here at the hub, Toshiko to break into The Phillips Institute again to remove all traces of their work on the diet pill; Owen because travelling on the TARDIS makes him sick, so he can help Toshiko. The Doctor is going to drop Ianto and I off in the basement of the Phillips Institute so that we can get rid of any physical evidence and make sure they are all dosed with Retcon. Toshiko will also find another trial they are currently working on and replace the missing files with that information so they won't realise that anything has been removed from the system.”

“Yep,” Toshiko and Owen confirmed in unison.

“Then we should get to work, the staff will be leaving for the day soon and therefore we need to get the Retcon into the water, coffee and tea supplies to reach anyone that we don't get to before we leave,” Jack added. “we have the fake ID passes that Toshiko has made us and along with two of the white lab coats from the medical bay we will hopefully be able to interact with the staff without being recognised too soon.”

“I think the glasses the Doctor has supplied us with, along with those old hippy wigs I found in the archives – and no, I really don't want to know Jack – we should be able to pass ourselves off as employee's,” Ianto said. “you look kinda hot in those glasses by the way.”

“Really?” Jack grinned, pulling them from his pocket, donning them and giving the younger man a wink.

“Oh yeah,” Ianto replied and then blushed a shade of pink when he realised what he was implying in front of their friends.

“So, anyway, we should get going then?” The Doctor asked, changing the subject swiftly back to where it had started.

“Good idea,” Ianto agreed. “Klanrk, is there anything you wish to take with you for your journey?”

“Just the rest of the food I brought with me from that room,” Klanrk answered. “if that's okay?”

“Of course,” Ianto smiled.

“Okay, Toshiko and Owen, you know what you need to do,” Jack stated. “the rest of us need to get to The Phillips Institute and do our part of the job.”

“Goodbye Toshiko, goodbye Owen,” Klanrk said politely and followed the others to the invisible lift to take them back up to the Plass and the TARDIS.

Toshiko watched him sadly, wiping a stray tear from her eye before settling down at the computer and beginning her work.

TBC


	36. Chapter 36

Jack and Ianto donned the glasses and wigs in the basement of the Phillips Institute building and couldn't help but chuckle a little at each other, but they did resemble the fake ID's that Toshiko had produced for them in a relatively short time.

“I suggest we work our way upwards,” Jack said. “now that they don't have Klanrk held down here they won't have any need to guard his holding cell, we can strip away anything in it that makes it look like something alien was ever living there and once that is done we just need to track down any paper trail.”

“The water supply is probably on this level too.” Ianto added. “there's a detailed map of each floor, we can administer the Retcon to it while we're here.”

“Yeah,” Jack nodded in agreement. “you find the water supply and I'll get to the room Klanrk was being held in and I'll meet you by the lift in … ten minutes?”

“Yep,” Ianto agreed and they parted ways, each of them heading off to do their tasks.

Jack found the room Klanrk had been held in easily and as he had surmised the room was unguarded and unlocked, he slipped inside and searched the holding area, finding nothing but what could have been used by any human detainee and with some relief left again empty handed.

*~*~*

Ianto ran to the lift and swiftly examined the map of the lever situated beside it, finding the location of where the water supply entered the building was not far from the room the alien had been held in he ran down the corridor in the same direction Jack had taken before him.

Upon seeing what he was looking for he smiled, the water supply had an industrial water softener attached to it, making his job very easy. Unscrewing the cap on the top he pulled out the vial of crushed Retcon pills and tipped a liberal amount into the water system, then after screwing it back on tightly he headed back to meet Jack by the lift.

“Now up to the main offices,” Jack told him as he arrived at their meeting point. “Toshiko said that there are no coffee and tea making facilities on the research floor and that everyone, management and staff alike down to the cleaners all have to go to the same point to get refreshments.”

“That'll make things a darn sight easier,” Ianto answered, getting into the lift when it arrived at their floor and the doors opened. “I just hope these disguises aren't too obvious.”

“According to Owen there are more than a couple of the research staff that look like throw backs from the sixties and said that we shouldn't stand out too much,” Jack replied with a grin. “do you really think I look good in glasses?”

“Yep, I may need you to hang onto them later,” Ianto smiled and then gave his lover a wink as the doors opened on their selected floor.

“And the wig?” Jack asked, cocking an eyebrow suggestively.

“No, definitely not the wig,” Ianto told him adamantly. “and before you even ask, no, I'm not wearing the wig either!”

“Spoilsport,” Jack chucked and followed the younger man out of the lift. “Owen said we need to take a right and then a left and the staff room is at the far end of the corridor.”

“Lets get going then, the less time we spend in this place the better,” Ianto urged, striding off in the direction Jack had told him, with the Captain hot on his heels.

“Nice,” Ianto said, looking around the almost deserted area and comparing it to the small kitchenette of the hub. “maybe we need to rethink our own staff room?”

“What's wrong with it?” Jack asked, one eye on the two guys in suits at the far end sat on one of the comfy looking sofa's and deep in conversation.

“It's basically a corner of the room with a kettle, coffee machine and a fridge!” Ianto exclaimed, well, as best as he could in semi-hushed terms. “some sofa's would be nice and I don't mean moving that ratty old thing into their either!”

“It would make for a more comfy experience when I seduce you there,” Jack replied thoughtfully.

Ianto rolled his eyes at him. “Enough of that, we have a job to do. You take the tea machine and I'll get the coffee one, then we can get out of here before those blokes wonder what the hell we are doing or ask us something we have no idea about!”

“Fine,” Jack mumbled good heartedly and did as the younger man suggested.

“Hey, are you making fresh coffee?” One of the suits called over to Ianto.

“Yep,” Ianto called back easily. “do you want a cup?”

“Thanks,” the man replied and then turned back to his colleague and their conversation.

“Smooth,” the Captain whispered impressed.

“That's me,” Ianto grinned, finished adding the retcon to the coffee makers system and then poured three cups of coffee.

“Why three?” Jack asked, indicating the mugs.

“One for each of them and one for myself,” Ianto replied. “it'll look odd now if I don't partake, but in reality that pot plant next to me won't know what's hit it. And you should make a cup of tea for that same reason.”

“You're right, you're always right,” Jack sighed and followed Ianto's example while Ianto delivered the coffee's to the two men on the sofa, then swiftly returned.

“That was easy, I was expecting them to ask who I was and why they'd never seen me before,” Ianto said with some relief.

“I suspect the suits and the research guys don't have a lot to do with each other,” Jack answered. “they wouldn't know you from Adam.”

“True,” Ianto agreed and after giving the guys on the sofa a glance he poured the contents of his mug into the plant pot, rinsing it out at the small sink while Jack did the same.

“Okay, time to locate the paper trail,” Jack said, rinsing his own mug and placing beside the others on the counter top. “same floor, we need to go back to the end of this corridor and then turn left, Owen said that the filing cabinets are all in one room at the back of the main offices.”

“We can even use their shredders to destroy any evidence of their experiments that we find,” Ianto answered, walking quickly down the corridor beside Jack and straight into the offices.

“Can I help you gentleman?” A woman situated by the door asked them.

“We need all the information on the missing alien, they seem to think it will help track it down again,” Jack told her with authority. “I suspect that we'll never see it again but they are sure of it.”

“I still can't believe there were keeping a real, live alien here,” the woman replied excitedly. “ or that we never got to see it, did you see it? Was it ugly and scary?” Was it evil, like the movies?”

“It looked kinda like us,” Ianto told her. “just very tall and extremely skinny, and no, it wasn't evil.”

“I really wish I could have met it,” she sighed. “maybe if they find it I will.”

“You never know,” Jack said, giving her one of his wide smiles. “can we go and collect what we need?”

“Help yourself,” she answered cheerfully and turned back to her work.

They walked through the rows of desks and into the room at the back, it was quite large and along with housing row upon row of filing cabinets along two of the walls it was also home to a desk – which Ianto assumed for was research – a photocopier and a computer.

“Oh, yeah! Loving that office-y feel!” Jack grinned. “I always get excited  
in these places. To me, they're exotic. Office romances ... photocopying your butt ...  
well, maybe not your butt, although as we're here, why don’t we ...”

“Jack, if we acted out every odd fetish you told me we'd never get any work done,” Ianto chuckled shaking his head in disbelief.

“I was thinking ...” Jack added. “Once we've finished this we could go out for dinner, maybe a movie, relax a bit?”

“At least it won't be in an office!” Ianto grinned. “Sure, it's a date.”

“Now that's given me the incentive to get this job done quickly,” Jack answered, activating him comm and talking to Toshiko back at the hub.

“Toshiko?” Jack asked carefully, not wanting to startle the woman.

“I'm here Jack,” she replied confidently.

“How are you doing with the computers?” Jack asked her.

“I've deleted all the relevant files from all the workstations involved in the diet pill trial and the mainframe,” Toshiko answered. “and I've managed I've added a little programme to hide the gap so to speak so that the researchers involved in it will now think they've been working on the Institutes other main programme which is looking into a new way to help heart attack patients.”

“So much more worthwhile,” Jack told her. “we've administrated the Retcon to the refreshment supplies and are just about to destroy any physical evidence we can find, anything we should be aware of?”

“Most of the paperwork will be in the filing cabinets as they are just for back-up but you might want to check out the secretary’s desk, any items that still need filing are given to left there for her to file in the morning when she comes in.”

“Thanks Tosh,” Jack replied. “we'll see you back at the hub in a little while.”

“Be careful Jack, if they see past your disguises they might shoot first and ask questions later this time,” Toshiko warned the Captain.

“Will do,” Jack reassured her and then cut the link.

“I've found the files,” Ianto told him, pulling out several thick files from one of the filing cabinet drawers and emptying it completely. “it seems to be all of them.”

“Great, if you can start shredding them I'll check out the secretary's desk, Toshiko said to double check there also,” Jack answered. “I won't be long.”

“Sure,” Ianto nodded and pulled out a few sheets and began to feed them into the shredder as Jack left the room.

Jack returned less than ten minutes later with another, much slimmer file and a second shredder that he'd found, he added the file to the pile and then plugged in the shredder.

“I double checked all the desks but Toshiko was right, they were all where she said they would be,” Jack told him, picking up a file and beginning to feed the sheets into it and then asked cheekily. “are you sure you don't fancy photocopying anything before we leave?”

“Positive,” Ianto chuckled.

“I was thinking though, maybe we could postpone the dinner and movie until another night,” Jack replied. “I'd rather we just went straight home.”

“Yep, if you promise to keep the glasses and lose the wig?” Ianto grinned, feeding the last few sheets into his shredder.

“Done,” Jack agreed. “now lets get out of here before those remaining staff out there come to see what we're really up to in here.”

“What did you tell them?” Ianto asked curiously.

“That we need to photocopy all the files for an audit,” Jack chuckled.

“And they believed you?” Ianto asked.

“Yeah, I must have been convincing,” Jack laughed.

“Amazing!” Ianto dead-panned, getting him a light tap in the arse.

“Cheeky bugger,” Jack retorted and with that they emptied the shredded papers into the large recycling bin in one corner and then left the room, hurrying past all the desks and the few remaining employee's with a sigh of relief when they were safely out into the corridor.

“Time to get out of this place,” Jack declared, striding down the corridor towards the lift and pressing the button.

“There should be very few, if any that evade the Retcon,” Ianto said. “and any that do, we can deal with later and leak a rumour about drugs.”

“Good call,” Jack agreed, the lift finally arriving and the doors opening for them to step inside.

“Hey, hold the lift!” A voice called out to them, followed by a young woman rushing inside with them and panting her thanks softly.

“You're welcome,” Jack replied, giving her his patented grin.

“I haven't seen you around here before,” she said, frowning as she studied them closely.

“They don't like to let us up here unless that can help it,” Ianto joked.

“Sure ...” she murmured.

“It's true,” Jack told her. “we rarely get to see daylight more than once a week.”

“Now I know you're pulling my leg!” She laughed, her face relaxing.

“To be honest, we haven't been here long,” Ianto said, lying easily. “but I hope we get to run into you again soon.”

“Do you, really?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow at his lover.

“Now, now Jack.” Ianto smirked. “surely you're not jealous that I got in first for once?”

“You got in first?” The woman said indignantly. “What am I, some kind of prize?”

With that the lift arrived at the ground floor and after giving them both a look of disgust she stalked out and across the lobby.

“That worked then, distracted her from trying to recognise us and now she'll just forget us as the guys that acted as idiots in the lift,” Ianto smiled, leading the way out through the lift doors.

“You're brilliant Ianto, did you know that?” Jack asked as they walked through the lobby and outside to where the SUV was exactly where they had left it.

“Yep,” Ianto grinned. “and modest too.”

Jack pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the SUV.

“Hub, then home,” Jack declared, climbing into the driving seat and after pulling off the wig he tossed it on the back seat.

“Oh no, those can stay,” Ianto said, winking at him when he went to remove the glasses, removing his own wig and glasses and discarding them.

“We'll commend Owen and Toshiko on a job well done, tell them we'll see them in the morning and then send them home,” Jack replied, putting the car into gear and pulling away.

“I'm not the only one who has brilliant ideas,” Ianto replied, running his hand down the Captains thigh. “that's the best one I've heard in days.”

Jack just grinned widely at him and pressed his foot down harder on the cars accelerator pedal. 

TBC


	37. Chapter 37

“Okay, to recap,” Jack stated to those sat around the table in the conference room. “you both understand that upon taking the jobs we are offering you means that you have to adhere to certain rules, the main one being that our work is as secret as we can make it. I know about all the rumours that concern Torchwood and we need to do everything we can to keep them that way, just rumours which mean you don't tell anyone where you work, or who you work for. As far as they are concerned, you work for a government agency and have signed the official secrets act.”

“Understood,” Toshiko agreed readily.

“Seconded,” Owen nodded.

“Great,” Jack said, giving them a smile. “you both did a brilliant job today and along with mine and Ianto's work at the Institute this whole episode should be forgotten.”

“I've contacted the papers and issued a statement about the diet pill,” Ianto added. “from tomorrow morning the general public will believe that it was all just a hoax, made up by one of the staff at the Institute and that they have been admonished for their actions.”

“This was a pretty easy case compared to most,” Jack told Owen and Toshiko. “you are also aware that this job can be very hazardous, you could, as I have warned before die in the line of duty.”

“We understand that,” Owen answered for them both. “we discussed this while we were here alone and have agreed that should one of us lose our lives then we won't lay the blame at your door. We would be happy to put that in writing if required.”

“No, that won't be necessary,” Jack assured them. “now, according to the rift predictor tonight should be event free so I want you to both get on home and we'll see you here bright and early in the morning for a more detailed tour of the hub and we'll discuss your weapons training programme.”

“We'll be here, you can count on it,” Toshiko grinned at her new boss.

“We're heading off home too, so we can give you a lift,” Ianto suggested and they agreed readily, just waiting for Jack to put the hub on automatic before they all left and headed down to the car park to the SUV.

Pulling into their driveway they spotted Gwen watching them from the corner of the window opposite.

“Do you think she'll break the Retcon?” Ianto asked Jack.

“No, if she hasn't by now that it's doubtful,” Jack answered.

“Hey, wait, you've Retconned Gwen?” Owen asked, a little in shock. “Did she see something she shouldn't?”

“Not exactly.” Ianto explained. “she followed us and worked out we were Torchwood and Jack decided to give her a trail which she failed, hence the Retcon.”

“She was that bad?” Toshiko asked nervously.

“Don't worry Toshiko, it wasn't her work skills that mostly lost her the chance of a job,” Ianto answered. “she was having trouble keeping her hands to herself when Jack was about.”

“Oh my god, and she knew you two were together?” Toshiko gasped. “Well, of course she did, she lives opposite you and … she's engaged to Rhys!”

Owen laughed. “Come on love, home!”

“Yeah, sure,” Toshiko agreed, letting Owen lead her down the driveway, trying not to stare at the woman watching them.

Ianto yawned loudly as Jack unlocked the front door to let them in.

“Perhaps we should have got some sleep last night,” Jack chuckled softly, giving Ianto a soft kiss before closing the door.

“Mmmm,” Ianto agreed. “how about we shower and nap and then we can see what follows later.”

“That sounds like a plan to me,” Jack answered, taking him by the hand and leading him upstairs to the bathroom.

The End.


End file.
